NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Highveld Gerbil
Gerbilliscus (Taterona) brantsii (A. Smith, 1836)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
![Gerbilliscus brantsii [Smith, A. 1849. Illustrations of the zoology of South Africa: consisting chiefly of figures and descriptions of the objects of natural history collected during an expedition into the interior of South Africa, in the years 1834, 1835, and 1836, fitted out by the "Cape of Good Hope Association for exploring Central Africa". Vol 1. Mammalia (plate 36). Smith, Elder and Co. London.]](/assets/optimized/8b87f912af99dff072e79c5094cdadd8d4f676a8715c1014c1ba4a2a3fa3d763.webp)
Gerbilliscus brantsii [Smith, A. 1849. Illustrations of the zoology of South Africa: consisting chiefly of figures and descriptions of the objects of natural history collected during an expedition into the interior of South Africa, in the years 1834, 1835, and 1836, fitted out by the "Cape of Good Hope Association for exploring Central Africa". Vol 1. Mammalia (plate 36). Smith, Elder and Co. London.]
Andrew Smith · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The highveld gerbil (Gerbilliscus brantsii) is a species of rodent found in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, temperate shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, temperate grassland, and temperate desert. This is a common species with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as being of "least concern" as of 2008.
Wikipedia contributors, Highveld gerbil; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:28:36.459334+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Gerbilliscus (Taterona) brantsii (A. Smith, 1836)
- Name authority
- (A. Smith, 1836)
- Common name
- Highveld Gerbil
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Muridae
- Genus
- Gerbilliscus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderMyomorpha Brandt, 1855
- superfamilyMuroidea Illiger, 1811
- familyMuridae Illiger, 1811
- subfamilyGerbillinae Gray, 1825
- genusGerbilliscus Thomas, 1897
- subgenusTaterona Wroughton, 1917
- speciesGerbilliscus (Taterona) brantsii (A. Smith, 1836)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Gerbilliscus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Cape GerbilGerbilliscus (Taterona) afra (Gray, 1830) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gorongoza GerbilGerbilliscus (Taterona) inclusus (Thomas & Wroughton, 1908) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Phillip's GerbilGerbilliscus (Taterona) phillipsi (de Winton, 1898) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Savanna GerbilGerbilliscus (Taterona) validus (Bocage, 1890) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-tailed GerbilGerbilliscus (Taterona) nigricaudus (Peters, 1878) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gerbilliscus (Taterona) kempii (Wroughton, 1906) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Boehm's GerbilGerbilliscus (Gerbilliscus) boehmi (Noack, 1887) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Guinea GerbilGerbilliscus (Taterona) guineae (Thomas, 1910) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bushveld GerbilGerbilliscus (Taterona) leucogaster (Peters, 1852) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Fringe-tailed GerbilGerbilliscus (Taterona) robustus (Cretzschmar, 1826) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Tatera breyeri Roberts, 1926 Roberts, 1926 | synonym |
| Meriones maccalinus Sundevall, 1847 Sundevall, 1847 | synonym |
| Meriones montanus A. Smith, 1842 A. Smith, 1842 | synonym |
| Tatera brantsii (A. Smith, 1836) (A. Smith, 1836) | synonym |
| Tatera draco Wroughton, 1906 Wroughton, 1906 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=970788 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3FW7N. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.