Pedetes capensis

(Forster, 1778) · species

image placeholder — illustration coming later

Animalia/Chordata/Mammalia/Rodentia/Pedetidae/Pedetes

At a glance

Occurrence records822

Data sources11

Biological traits23

DNA specimens1

eDNA detections1

Sources11 archives

Databases and archives Pedetes capensis's data was compiled from.

WikipediaWikimedia Foundation14 languages↗

Animal Diversity WebUniv. of Michigan MZspecies account↗

BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗

GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility822 records↗

ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI1 eDNA detections↗

BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics1 specimens↗

Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗

GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗

NCBIUS National Library of Medicinegenome & karyotype↗

WikidataWikimedia Foundationstructured facts↗

GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗

On this page6 sections

Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.

NarrativeADW · Wikipediaarticle

Traits & measurements4 literature sources23 traits

Occurrence & distributionGBIF822 records

Environmental DNA1 datasets · 0 countries1 detections

DNA & barcodingBOLD1 specimens

Genome at a glanceGoaT · NCBI≈2.9 Gbp

01Narrative

The South African springhare (Pedetes capensis) () 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 (P. surdaster) was included in P. capensis.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.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. Springhares live throughout semi-arid areas in southern Africa, preferentially in sandy plains and pans with short grasses. In agricultural areas, springhares can be considered a pest due to their destructive feeding on crops. However, they are not currently considered under an impending risk of extinction.

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.

02Traits & measurements

SourcesPanTHERIAAnAgeAmnioteDBEltonTraits

Size & morphology2

Body mass2 549 g

⚠ sources differ — PanTHERIA: 2 549 g · AnAge: 3 500 g · AmnioteDB: 2 775 g · EltonTraits: 3 155 g

SVL41.5 cm

Life cycle & reproduction8

Age at sexual maturity338 days

⚠ sources differ — PanTHERIA: 338 days · AnAge: 1 034 days · AmnioteDB: 1 034 days

Gestation78.02 days

Litter size0.98

Litters per year3.6 /year

Max. longevity174 months

⚠ sources differ — PanTHERIA: 174 months · AnAge: 240 months · AmnioteDB: 241 months

Neonate mass253 g

⚠ sources differ — PanTHERIA: 253 g · AnAge: 275 g · AmnioteDB: 270 g

Weaning age45.61 days

Weaning mass1 300 g

Diet & foraging4

Breadth3

Plant other90 %

Seed10 %

Trophic levelherbivore

Habitat & environment2

Habitat breadth2

Terrestriality1.00

Physiology & chemistry4

Body temperature309 K

Metabolic rate4.43 W

Precipitation mean58.64 mm

Temperature mean202 decidegC

Other traits3

Activity cycle1.00

Foraging stratumG

Interbirth interval101 days

05DNA & barcoding1 specimens

A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Pedetes capensis has left across the world's sequence archives.

At a glance

DNA specimens1

BINs1

Marker genes1

eDNA detections1

Marker genes sequenced

★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.

★COI-5P

animal barcode

06Genome at a glanceGoaT · NCBI

The complete instruction manual Pedetes capensis carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.

Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is

Genome size≈2 850 076 812 bp assembly estimate

Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).

BACTERIUM Carsonella ruddii0.00016 Gb

FUNGUS0.04 Gb

INSECT0.25 Gb

THIS GENOME Pedetes capensis2.85 Gb

HUMAN3.2 Gb

WHEAT17 Gb

FERN Tmesipteris160.45 Gb

Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged

2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.

Chromosomes2n = 38 n = 19

Chromosome-count records — grouped by value · 2n = full set, n = gamete · click a value for sources & references

2n 381×GoaT · Animal Chromosome Counts Database

GoaT · Animal Chromosome Counts Database — ↗

Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers

Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.

Assembly levelScaffold

07Deep time~51.4 Ma lineage

How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.

At a glance

DNA clock origin51.4 Ma TimeTree

When this lineage existed

How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.

DNA clock origin

08Occurrence & distribution

Record type822 records

Wild obs. + sensor368

Museum / vouchered454

Origin

Native218

Range

Area of Occupancy AOO1 592 km²

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

Coordinate accuracy77% within 1 km

≤100 m 143≤1 km 69≤10 km 36>10 km 28

276 georeferenced · 92 without coordinates

Open the mapobservation + sensor368

Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence

Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.

Coordinate accuracy26% within 1 km

≤100 m 35≤1 km 41≤10 km 49>10 km 168

293 georeferenced · 161 without coordinates

Open the institutions mapphysical evidence454

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

10Collections & institutions

Holding institutions16 of 23 geolocated

Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.

Institution	Specimens
East Lansing, US	134
Los Angeles, US	79
Washington, US	61
Chicago, US	34
New Haven, US	25
Brussels, BE	18
Berkeley, US	17
RBINS-Scientific Heritagelocation not on record	11
Denver, US	11
Wuzhou, CN	9
Cambridge, US	9
Stockholm, SE	8
Royal Museum for Central Africalocation not on record	7
Bonn, DE	6
Geneva, CH	6
Seattle, US	5
	5
CASlocation not on record	3
Provo, US	2
Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collectionlocation not on record	1
Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record	1
Museo civico La Terra e l'Uomo di Crocetta del Montellolocation not on record	1
University of Wisconsin, Zoological Museumlocation not on record	1

23 institutions · 454 of 454 vouchered records shown

09Environmental DNA1 detections

Where the DNA of Pedetes capensis was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.

Signal

Detections DNA found1

Studies independent surveys1

Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections

Where its DNA was found

0 of 1 detections have coordinates

Open the map0 countries0

How strong is each trace?

DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.

How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.

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