Gerbillurus (Progerbillurus) paeba (A. Smith 1836)

[Gerbilliscus] paeba A. Smith 1836, Rept. Exped. Exploring Central Africa, app.: 43.

Type Locality: South Africa, W Eastern Cape Province, Vryberg (as restricted by Roberts, 1951:401).

Vernacular Names: Paeba Hairy-footed Gerbil.

Synonyms: Gerbillurus (Progerbillurus) broomi (Thomas 1918); Gerbillurus (Progerbillurus) calidus (Thomas 1918); Gerbillurus (Progerbillurus) coombsi (Roberts 1929); Gerbillurus (Progerbillurus) exilis (Shortridge and Carter 1938); Gerbillurus (Progerbillurus) infernus (Lundholm 1955); Gerbillurus (Progerbillurus) kalaharicus (Roberts 1932); Gerbillurus (Progerbillurus) leucanthus (Thomas 1927); Gerbillurus (Progerbillurus) mulleri (Roberts 1946); Gerbillurus (Progerbillurus) oralis (Thomas and Hinton 1925); Gerbillurus (Progerbillurus) swakopensis (Roberts 1951); Gerbillurus (Progerbillurus) swalius (Thomas and Hinton 1925); Gerbillurus (Progerbillurus) tenuis (A. Smith 1842) .

Distribution: South Africa (western half and Limpopo; see Perrin, 1997 c, Skinner and Smithers, 1990), W Mozambique, W Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia (Griffin, 1990), and SW Angola (Crawford-Cabral, 1998).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Progerbillurus . Meester et al. (1986) and Skinner and Smithers (1990) summarized South African taxonomy and distribution. Based on analyses of chromosomal data, Qumsiyeh (1986) hypothesized that G. paeba and G. vallinus evolved from a common ancestor. Significance of variation in cranial size and shape between G. paeba and Desmodillus auricularis in sympatry is documented by Matson and Christian (1996). Southern African Subregion population reviewed and mapped by Perrin (1997 c).