The spring hare is a bipedal rodent that defies easy classification among living species.

Nature · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Despite its name, the spring hare is not a hare or rabbit. This bipedal rodent, indigenous to Africa, moves in erratic leaps of up to three metres. It is the sole member of its family, possessing unique physical adaptations that allow it to thrive in arid, sandy environments.

The spring hare (Pedetes capensis) is a grazing rodent that resembles a giant jerboa. It features a short, round head, large eyes, and powerful hind legs built for jumping. When moving, it stands on its hind feet, using its tail as a brace while keeping its forefeet tucked close to its body. These animals are well-adapted to sandy, arid habitats, possessing specialized features like nostrils that close and ear flaps that fold to exclude dust and sand. They are nocturnal, spending their days in complex burrows they excavate using sharp, curved claws on their forefeet.

Taxonomically, the spring hare is an enigma. While researchers have previously attempted to link them to jerboas, gundis, or even mice and rats, most specialists now agree they are not closely related to any other living rodent group. They represent the only member of the family Pedetidae, which is currently classified within the suborder Anomaluromorpha. Their closest evolutionary relatives are known only through the fossil record, including the extinct genus Megapedetes, a much larger version of the spring hare that inhabited Asia during the Miocene epoch.

These rodents are primarily herbivores, consuming grass, roots, and occasionally cultivated crops or locusts. They typically weigh between 3 and 4 kilograms and reach lengths of up to 43 centimetres. While they were once considered vulnerable due to population declines, current assessments list them as species of least concern. Their evolutionary history remains a subject of study, as they serve as a distinct example of how specialized physical traits can emerge in isolated lineages, separate from the broader rodent family tree.

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