Pedetes
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| Springhares Temporal range: Early Pliocene to Recent in Africa[1]
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| File:Spring Hare (Pedetes capensis) (6042009463).jpg | |
| South African springhare (P. capensis) | |
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Pedetes
Illiger, 1811
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Pedetes is a genus of rodent, the springhares, in the family Pedetidae. 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:
- South African springhare or springhaas (Pedetes capensis)
- East African springhare (Pedetes surdaster)
- Pedetes laetoliensis (Davies, 1987) (fossil)[2]
Throughout the 20th century, the living species (and occasionally the prehistoric one) were merged into P. capensis, making the genus monotypic.[3][4]
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.
References
- ↑ 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)
- ↑ 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]
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