- Title
- Life history of the springhare (Pedetes capensis) from a strongly seasonal environment in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa
- Creator
- Peinke, Dean, Bernard, Ric T F
- Subject
- To be catalogued
- Date
- 2005
- Type
- text
- Type
- article
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/447089
- Identifier
- vital:74583
- Identifier
- doi.org/10.1080/15627020.2005.11407327
- Description
- The life history of the springhare (Pedetes capensis, Forster, 1778) at 33°S, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, was characterized by continuous, aseasonal and asynchronous reproduction. Females were monotocous and consecutive pregnancies were separated by a non pregnant period (30–50 days) similar in length to the period of lactation. Young were relatively large at birth (8% of adult body weight) but were altricial and only emerged from the burrow at weaning. Towards the end of lactation, many females mated again (20% of all females were both lactating and in early pregnancy) and annual fecundity was probably two but never more than three. For a rodent, albeit a large one, this is a very slow rate of reproduction and we propose that the ricochetal locomotion (jumping on the hind legs) and semi-fossorial life style of the springhare will have resulted in decreased juvenile and adult mortality, and increased longevity, and that these factors have shaped the evolution of the life history of the springhare.
- Format
- 8 pages, pdf
- Language
- English
- Relation
- African Zoology, Peinke, D. and Bernard, R.T.F., 2005. Life history of the springhare (Pedetes capensis) from a strongly seasonal environment in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. African Zoology, 40(2), pp.285-292, African Zoology volume 40 number 2 285 292 2005 2224-073X
- Rights
- Publisher
- Rights
- Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Taylor and Francis Online Terms and Conditions Statement (https://www.tandfonline.com/terms-and-conditions)
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Collections
Bernard, Ric T F (Prof Emeritus)
SDG 15. Life On Land
RU Department of Zoology and Entomology
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