NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Pouched Mouse
Saccostomus campestris Peters, 1846
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.
Pouched Mouse (Saccostomus campestris), photographed in the Sand River Gorge, Medike Mountain Sanctuary, Soutpansberg, South Africa.
Ryan van Huyssteen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The South African pouched mouse or southern African pouched mouse (Saccostomus campestris) is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae, which is viewed as actually representing a complex of at least three undescribed species. It is found in southern Africa in Angola, Botswana, DR Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This species occurs in savanna woodland, as well as various other habitats, at elevations from 50 to 2000 m. It is present in arid regions of Namibia. The rodent is abundant and is tolerant of human disturbance of its habitat. Its behaviour has been studied extensively, and it is known to dig burrows extending up to 8.5 metres (28 ft) in length. Individuals enter torpor during the cool, dry season, having built up fat reserves during the wet season.
Wikipedia contributors, South African pouched mouse; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:08:48.182882+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Saccostomus campestris Peters, 1846
- Name authority
- Peters, 1846
- Common name
- Pouched Mouse
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Nesomyidae
- Genus
- Saccostomus
- 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
- familyNesomyidae Forsyth Major, 1897
- subfamilyCricetomyinae Roberts, 1951
- genusSaccostomus Peters, 1846
- speciesSaccostomus campestris Peters, 1846
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Saccostomus hildae Schwann, 1906 Schwann, 1906 | synonym |
| Saccostomus limpopoensis Roberts, 1914 Roberts, 1914 | synonym |
| Saccostomus pagei Thomas & Hinton, 1923 Thomas & Hinton, 1923 | synonym |
| Saccostomus streeteri Roberts, 1914 Roberts, 1914 | synonym |
| Saccostomus anderssoni de Winton, 1898 de Winton, 1898 | synonym |
| Saccostomus lapidarius Peters, 1852 Peters, 1852 | synonym |
| Saccostomus mashonae de Winton, 1897 de Winton, 1897 | synonym |
| Saccostomus fuscus Peters, 1852 Peters, 1852 | 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=632776 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:4TX9T. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.