Pedetes

Last updated

Springhare
Temporal range: Middle Pliocene to Recent [1] [2] 3.85–0  Ma
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Spring Hare (Pedetes capensis) (6042009463).jpg
South African springhare (P. capensis)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Pedetidae
Genus: Pedetes
Illiger, 1811
Type species
Yerbua capensis
Species

See text

Pedetes is a genus of rodent, the springhares, in the family Pedetidae. [3] Members of the genus are distributed across southern and Eastern Africa.

Contents

Species

A number of species both extant and extinct are classified in the genus Pedetes. They include:

Throughout the 20th century, the living species (and occasionally the prehistoric one) were merged into P. capensis, making the genus monotypic. [5] [6]

Ecology

These rodents are generally nocturnal and sleep through the day in burrows they dig. They feed on foliage, roots and other vegetable matter, and occasionally arthropods. Outside the burrow they usually move around by hopping on their hind legs.

When only one springhare species was recognized, it was listed as vulnerable by the IUCN in 1996 due to an approximately 20% decrease in the population over the previous ten years. This has been caused by intense hunting and the loss of habitat. However, the negative trend has not persisted, and both species are now listed as Species of Least Concern. The coat of these rodents is known to glow a fluorescent color when viewed under black light. [7]

Vocalisations

This rodent has a range of vocalizations at its disposal. They can grunt and pleat. They also have a piping contact call. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African springhare</span> Species of rodent

The South African springhare 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, and is native to southern Africa. Formerly, the genus was considered monotypic and the East African springhare was included in P. capensis.

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Megapedetes is a genus of fossil rodents related to the springhare and other species of the genus Pedetes, with which it forms the family Pedetidae. At least four species are known, which ranged through Africa, southwestern Asia, and southeastern Europe from the Miocene to the Pliocene. The genus was larger than Pedetes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East African springhare</span> Species of rodent

The East African springhare is an African mammal that is not closely related to the hare, which is not a lagomorph, but is a member of the Pedetidae, a rodent family.

References

  1. McKenna, M.C. and Bell, S.K. 1997. Classification of Mammals: Above the species level. New York: Columbia University Press, 631 pp. ISBN   978-0-231-11013-6 (p. 185)
  2. "Fossilworks: Pedetes". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  3. Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
  4. Fossil Pedetidae (Rodentia) from Laetoli. Leakey, M.D.; Harris, J.M.[Eds]. Laetoli. A Pliocene site in northern Tanzania., Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York etc., 1987: i-xxii, 1-561. Chapter pagination: 171-190. [Zoological Record Volume 124]
  5. Matthee, C. A. & Robinson, T. J. (1997). "Mitochondrial DNA phylogeography and comparative cytogenetics of the springhare, Pedetes capensis (Mammalia: Rodentia)". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 4 (1): 53–73. doi:10.1023/A:1027331727034. S2CID   27652899.
  6. Matthee, C. A. & Robinson, T. J. (1997). "Molecular phylogeny of the springhare, Pedetes capensis, based on mitochondrial DNA sequences". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 14 (1): 20–29. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a025698 . PMID   9000750.
  7. Giaimo, Cara (18 February 2021). "TrilobitesMeet the Newest Member of the Fluorescent Mammal ClubThe springhare — whose coat glows a patchy pinkish-orange under UV light — joins the platypus and other mammals with this perplexing trait.By Cara Giaimo". The New York Times. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
  8. Kingdon, Jonathan (2015). The Kingdon field guide to African mammals (Second ed.). London. ISBN   978-1-4729-2531-2. OCLC   907676449.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Further reading