South African springhare

South African springhare
Temporal range: Calabrian to present[1] 1.8–0 Ma
↓
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Pedetidae
Genus: Pedetes
Species:
P. capensis
Binomial name
Pedetes capensis
(Forster, 1778)
South African springhare range.[2]
Synonyms
  • Yerbua capensis [2]
  • Pedetes albaniensis
  • Pedetes angolae
  • Pedetes cafer
  • Pedetes damarensis
  • Pedetes fouriei
  • Pedetes orangiae
  • Pedetes salinae
  • Pedetes typicus [3][4]

The South African springhare (Pedetes capensis) (Afrikaans: springhaas) is a medium-sized terrestrial and burrowing rodent. Despite the name, it is not a hare. It is one of two extant species in the genus Pedetes,[3] and is native to southern Africa. Formerly, the genus was considered monotypic and the East African springhare (P. surdaster) was included in P. capensis.[5][6]

Springhares live throughout semi-arid areas in southern Africa, preferentially in sandy plains and pans with short grasses.[7] In agricultural areas, springhares can be considered a pest due to their destructive feeding on crops.[8][9] However, they are not currently considered under an impending risk of extinction.[10]

  1. ^ "Fossilworks: Yerbua capensis". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Child, M.F. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Pedetes capensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T16467A115133584.
  3. ^ a b Dieterlen, F. (2005). "Family Pedetidae". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 1535. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  4. ^ Kingdon, Jonathan. (2013). Mammals of Africa. Happold, D. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4081-8996-2. OCLC 854973585.
  5. ^ Matthee, C. A. and Robinson, T. J. (1997). Mitochondrial DNA phylogeography and comparative cytogenetics of the springhare, Pedetes capensis (Mammalia: Rodentia). Journal of Mammalian Evolution 4: 53–73.
  6. ^ Matthee, C. A. and Robinson, T. J. (1997). Molecular phylogeny of the springhare, Pedetes capensis, based on mitochondrial DNA sequences. Molecular Biology and Evolution 14 (1): 20–29.
  7. ^ Kingdon, Jonathan (2015). The Kingdon field guide to African mammals. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. pp. 255–256. ISBN 978-1-4729-1236-7.
  8. ^ Butynski, T. M. (1973). "Life history and economic value of the springhare (Pedetes capensis forster) in Botswana". Botswana Notes and Records.
  9. ^ Peinke, D.M.; Brown, C.R. (2005-04-01). "Burrow utilization by springhares (Pedetes capensis) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa". African Zoology. 40 (1): 37–44. doi:10.1080/15627020.2005.11407307. ISSN 1562-7020. S2CID 54731984.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).