Gerbilliscus (Taterona) afra (Gray 1830)

[Gerbillus] afra Gray 1830, Spicil. Zool.: 10.

Type Locality: South Africa, Cape of Good Hope, vicinity of Cape Town (as restricted by Meester et al., 1986).

Vernacular Names: Cape Gerbil.

Synonyms: Gerbilliscus (Taterona) africanus (Cuvier 1838); Gerbilliscus (Taterona) caffer (Wagner 1842); Gerbilliscus (Taterona) gilli (Roberts 1929); Gerbilliscus (Taterona) schlegelii (Smuts 1832) .

Distribution: Endemic to the Cape Macchia zone, Western Cape Province, South Africa (see Meester et al., 1986; Perrin, 1997 g; Skinner and Smithers, 1990); recorded from fynbos and succulent Karoo biomes (Mugo et al., 1995).

Conservation: IUCN – Least Concern as Tatera afra .

Discussion: Subgenus Taterona . Taxonomy and distribution summarized by Meester et al. (1986), who listed the species in the G. afra group. Pre- and postmating isolation in karyotypically similar G. afra and G. brantsii is documented by Dempster (1996), who suggested "despite the lack of chromosomal divergence often associated with speciation events in rodents, postmating isolation through hybrid disadvantage and possibly male sterility is operating." Reviewed by Perrin (1997 g).