Bushveld Gerbil

Open encyclopedia reference

The bushveld gerbil (Gerbilliscus leucogaster) is a species of rodent found in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, and hot deserts. Older sources classify it in the genus Tatera.

The bushveld gerbil is classified as a granivorous insectivore, but it will feed on herbage if its preferred foods are unavailable, and it commonly does so in the dry season. Breeding occurs in the wet season (September to April), with its timing dependent on the amount of rainfall. Mean litter size is between four and five.

Wikipedia contributors, Bushveld gerbil; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:24:36.389865+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Gerbilliscus (Taterona) leucogaster (Peters, 1852)

Name authority

(Peters, 1852)

Common name

Bushveld 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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
12. suborderMyomorpha Brandt, 1855
13. superfamilyMuroidea Illiger, 1811
14. familyMuridae Illiger, 1811
15. subfamilyGerbillinae Gray, 1825
16. genusGerbilliscus Thomas, 1897
17. subgenusTaterona Wroughton, 1917
18. speciesGerbilliscus (Taterona) leucogaster (Peters, 1852)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Gerbilliscus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 672 records assigned to Muridae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=970792 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:3FW7T. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.