Dusky hopping mouse | |
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Dusky hopping mouse (Notomys fuscus). Photo: Mike Letnic. | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Muridae |
Genus: | Notomys |
Species: | N. fuscus |
Binomial name | |
Notomys fuscus Jones, 1925 | |
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Current distribution of the dusky hopping mouse (Notomys fuscus), Image: IUCN Red List. |
The dusky hopping mouse (Notomys fuscus), is a small rodent endemic to Australia, inhabiting desert regions characterised by sand dunes. Populations have experienced significant declines since the arrival of Europeans, and continue to be subject to threatening processes. It is currently listed as a threatened species. [2]
The dusky hopping mouse, or Wilkinti, [2] [3] is a mammal in the order Rodentia, and suborder Sciurognathi. The species is in the family Muridae and the subfamily Murinae (includes all Australian native rats and mice). The dusky hopping mouse belongs to the genus Notomys , a group of desert-dwelling rodents. [4]
The species was originally described as Ascopharynx fuscus (Wood Jones 1925) from a specimen collected in South Australia. Subsequent collections were described as Notomys fuscus eyreius in 1960. [5] Hopping mice collected in Queensland between 1957 and 1959 were described as a new species, Notomys filmeri, however, later taxonomic investigation revealed these were Notomys fuscus. [6]
The dusky hopping mouse has pale orange-brown upper parts, occasionally with grey tinged streaks. The under parts are grey-white. [7] It grows to 80–115 mm long, [7] with an average weight of 35 g. [4] [7] The tail is between 120 and 155 mm long, [7] ending in a tuft of dark hairs. [2] [8] They have a well-developed throat pouch, with an opening surrounded by a fleshy margin with inward pointing, coarse white hairs. [7] [9] Its ears are large and furless for dissipating heat, and they have prominent dark eyes, [2] [10] and strong incisor teeth. [8] [10] It has short front legs, and long, elongated hind feet. [2] [8] with only three pads on the sole. [7] Male reproductive anatomy is distinctive. [4] The glans is small and tapered towards the tip. The surface has large dorsally projecting spines, with slightly curved tips. [11] The testes are extremely small compared to other native rodents. [12] [13] Females have two pairs of inguinal teats. [7] [8]
The species historically inhabited large areas of central Australia, south-west Queensland, and far west South Australia, [14] and Western Australia. [15] Sub-fossil specimens were found in far-south South Australia, near the Flinders Ranges. [14] Populations were recorded in the Northern Territory, however have not been observed since 1939. [16] [17] It is highly likely to have occurred in western New South Wales. [18] Distribution has shown a marked decline of more than 90% since the arrival of Europeans, [14] with populations now patchy and highly fragmented. [2] [14] It is currently thought to be restricted to the Cobblers Sandhills and Strzelecki Desert in north-east South Australia, [14] [15] south-west Queensland and far north-west New South Wales. [7] [19] The species was presumed to be extinct in New South Wales, before being re-discovered in Sturt National Park in 2003. [18] [20] Since then, a number of sightings have been recorded near Broken Hill, New South Wales. [20] [21]
The preferred habitat of the dusky hopping mouse is the crests and slopes of stabilised desert sand dunes and ridges, [15] [20] with sand required for digging burrows. [22] Dense populations tend to occur only within the vicinity of major drainage systems. [14] It does not appear to favour a particular vegetation type, occurring in dunes well-vegetated by canegrass (Zygochloa paradoxa), as well as degraded ecosystems dominated by ephemeral herbaceous species. [14] It has also been associated with perennial shrub species such as nitre bush (Nitraria billardierei) and Acacia species. [20]
The dusky hopping mouse is a social species, [7] living in colonies of up to five individuals. [20] [22] [2] They live in burrows consisting of vertical shafts with a series of entrances approximately 3 cm in diameter, [7] [2] leading to a network of horizontal tunnels and chambers [3] [4] extending up to 2m deep. [22] Notomys species dig their burrows from below, resulting in an absence of loose sand surrounding the entrance holes. [10] This species prefers to forage at night in sheltered microhabitats, rather than open areas, to avoid the risk of predation. [23] It is an opportunistic, [14] omnivorous feeder, however is considered a granivore (74% of the diet). [24] Green plant material, insects, [24] and fruits are also eaten. [14] It does not need to drink water. [2] [20] The neck throat pouch is a glandular area, used for marking territories. Females may scent-mark their young, ensuring they acquire a smell that grants them acceptance within the colony. [9]
In the wild, lifespan has been recorded as being up to 13 months of age. [22] In captivity, males and females reach reproductive maturity at 70 days of age. [25] This species is likely monogamous, and females may display selectivity in choosing which males will sire offspring. [10] [13] Breeding is non-seasonal, occurring year-round, in both wet and dry conditions. [14] [25] Females are observed to be polyoestrous, with a gestation period of 32 to 38 days, and a litter size of one to five offspring. An average of 42 days occurs between litters, and the maximum reproductive life for females is approximately 24 months, and males 36 months. [25] Subpopulations may persist at low but stable numbers, however others exhibit “boom-and-bust” variation, with numbers increasing and decreasing rapidly in response to rainfall and resource availability. [21] [22] [26] [27]
When travelling slowly, hopping mice move on all fours, however they hop on the hind feet when travelling at speed. [4] [8] Individuals can disperse over large distances to colonise isolated habitats, crossing areas of hard unsuitable substrate. [22] Foraging distances are up to 400m per night, extending up to 1.5 km over three nights. [22] [26] Individuals inhabiting degraded habitats with limited vegetation and food resources show lower mobility, whereas those inhabiting highly diverse habitats with a wide variety of resources have wider ranging movement patterns. [26]
Introduced predators such as the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) [28] and feral cat (Felis catus) have detrimental impacts on dusky hopping mouse populations. [23] [29] Where cat and fox abundance is high, dusky hopping mouse populations decline. [28] [29] [30] Cats target smaller prey such as rodents, which can make up a large proportion of their diet. [31] Native species, such as the barn owl (Tyto alba), frequently consume this species, [23] [32] as does the dingo. [23] [33] Dingoes may de-populate localised populations of hopping mice within months, [34] particularly under drought conditions. [33] Crest-tailed mulgara (Dasycercus cristicauda) have also been recorded eating this species. [35]
Livestock, kangaroos and rabbits overgraze vegetation required for shelter and food sources, [20] leading to scalding, wind and sheet erosion and a shift from perennial, to less productive ephemeral plant species. [14] [26] Livestock also damage habitats by trampling. [31] [36] Reduced food availability limits hopping mice abundance, and the availability of suitable habitat limits their distribution. [14] [26] However, higher annual rainfall and more productive ecosystems may buffer the effects of livestock, by providing more dependable and abundant resources, allowing mice to proliferate. [14] [33]
Competition for food and habitat occurs with the house mouse (Mus musculus), [22] which increase in abundance more rapidly under favourable conditions, depleting resources and outcompeting the native mice. [14] The rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) also competes with dusky hopping mice for food. Declines in rabbit abundance, and increased resources, following the release of the Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV) in Australia in 1995, saw the dusky hopping mouse increased their extent of occurrence by 241 to 365% over 14 years. [37]
This species experiences natural population declines during dry periods, when food resources are limited, and increase strongly following rainfall events. [26] [33] Decreases in rainfall, less frequent rainfall events and more frequent droughts under climate change may cause declines or extinctions. [19] [22] Predation of hopping mice by dingoes intensifies under drought conditions, which may significantly impact populations. [33]
The total remaining population is estimated to be between 2,500 and 10,000 individuals. [2] [14]
Southwest National Park is an Australian national park located in the south-west of Tasmania, bounded by the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park to the north and the Hartz Mountains National Park to the east. It is a part of a chain of national parks and state reserves that make up the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Covering an area of 6,183 km2 (2,387 sq mi), it is Tasmania's largest national park.
A hopping mouse is any of about ten different Australian native mice in the genus Notomys. They are rodents, not marsupials, and their ancestors are thought to have arrived from Asia about 5 million years ago.
The spinifex hopping mouse, also known as the tarkawara or tarrkawarra, occurs throughout the central and western Australian arid zones, occupying both spinifex-covered sand flats and stabilised sand dunes, and loamy mulga and melaleuca flats.
The tammar wallaby, also known as the dama wallaby or darma wallaby, is a small macropod native to South and Western Australia. Though its geographical range has been severely reduced since European colonisation, the tammar wallaby remains common within its reduced range and is listed as "Least Concern" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It has been introduced to New Zealand and reintroduced to some areas of Australia where it had been previously extirpated. Skull variations differentiate between tammar wallabies from Western Australia, Kangaroo Island, and mainland South Australia, making them distinct population groups.
The big-eared hopping mouse is an extinct species of mouse, which lived in the Moore River area of south-western Australia. The big-eared hopping mouse was a small, rat-sized animal resembling a tiny kangaroo. It had large eyes and ears with a brush-tipped tail. It moved on its four legs when traveling at a slower pace, or by bounding upon its enlarged, padded, hind feet when traveling quickly. They mainly lived in sand dunes and made nests of leaves and other organic materials. The big-eared hopping-mouse was last collected in July 1843 near the Moore River, Western Australia, close to where New Norcia is now situated, and has not been seen since.
The kultarr is a small insectivorous nocturnal marsupial inhabiting the arid interior of Australia. Preferred habitat includes stony deserts, shrubland, woodland, grassland and open plains. The kultarr has a range of adaptations to help cope with Australia's harsh arid environment including torpor similar to hibernation that helps conserve energy. The species has declined across its former range since European settlement due to changes in land management practices and introduced predators.
Mitchell's hopping mouse also known as the pankot, is the largest extant member of the genus Notomys, weighing between 40 and 60 g. N. mitchellii is a bipedal rodent with large back legs, similar to a jerboa or kangaroo rat. The species occurs throughout much of semi-arid Southern Australia, and appears to be particularly common on the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. Typical habitat for N. mitchellii appears to be mallee shrublands on sandy dune systems. The species is currently considered to be unthreatened, but its range has been reduced through habitat disturbance and destruction associated with European settlement in Australia.
Rhabdomys is a largely Southern African genus of muroid rodents slightly larger than house mice. They are known variously as striped or four-striped mice or rats. Traditionally the genus has been seen as a single species, Rhabdomys pumilio, though modern evidence on the basis of karyotype and mtDNA analysis suggests that it comprises two or more species and subspecies. Dorsally Rhabdomys species display four characteristic black longitudinal stripes on a paler background.
The plains rat(Pseudomys australis), also known as the palyoora, plains mouse and eastern mouse, is a conilurine rodent native to arid and semi-arid Australia. Referred to as the pallyoora or yarlie by Indigenous groups, the plains rat was once widely distributed across central Australia, including north-west New South Wales and south-west Queensland; however, habitat degradation due to grazing, introduced predators and drought have contributed to its decline. Consequently, the plains rat has been listed as 'presumed extinct' in New South Wales and Victoria, 'endangered' in the Northern Territory and Queensland and 'vulnerable' in Western Australia and South Australia. While recent research has indicated the presence of the plains rat in areas such as the Fowlers Gap and Strzelecki Desert regions of New South Wales and within the Diamantina National Park in Queensland, there are only five sub-populations currently recognised nationally, none of which coincide with recent discoveries of the plains rat. As the current population trend of the plains rat has been listed as 'declining' by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the IUCN conservation status for the species is 'vulnerable'.
The Forrest's mouse, or desert short-tailed mouse, is a small species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is a widespread but sparsely distributed species found across arid and semi-arid inland Australia, commonly found in tussock grassland, chenopod shrubland, and mulga or savannah woodlands.
The long-tailed hopping mouse is an extinct species of rodent in the family Muridae. It was found only in Australia. It is known from a handful of specimens, the last of which was collected in 1901 or possibly 1902. It is presumed to have become extinct within a few decades from then – possibly several decades in view of a skull fragment found in an owl pellet in 1977. The cause of extinction is unknown, but may be a variety of factors including predation and habitat alteration. Little is known of its biology other than that it dug burrows in stiff clay soils. It was less a pest to humans than other hopping mice, although it would eat raisins. The mouse was mainly gray in colour with small pink ears and big eyes with a long hairy pink tail about two inches longer than its own body. It was first described by John Gould on the basis of specimens sent to him from Australia.
The Darling Downs hopping mouse is an extinct species of mammal in the family Muridae. It is known from a single skull found at Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. Introduced predators such as foxes and domestic cats may have forced this species into extinction. The skull is identified as one of the Notomys, the hopping mice, an Australian genus that has been subject to rapid declines in populations leading to local and species extinction.
The Colombian rice rat, also known as the white-footed Handley's mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae occurring only in Colombia. It was previously included in Oryzomys, but closely resembles the dusky montane rat, and accordingly both species were placed in the new genus Handleyomys in 2002.
The sandy inland mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. Also known as the Hermannsburg (Mission) false-mouse or Hermannsburg mouse, it is endemic to Australia and found widely yet sparsely through arid and semi-arid areas.
The New Holland mouse also known as a Pookila is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It was first described by George Waterhouse in 1843. It vanished from view for over a century before its rediscovery in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park north of Sydney in 1967. It is found only in south east Australia, within the states of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, and Tasmania.
The Gilbert's whistler is a monotypic species of bird endemic to Australia, scattered in semi-arid zones of southern Australia.
The fawn hopping mouse is a medium sized rodent endemic to the Channel Country Bioregion of northeast South Australia and southwest Queensland in Australia. They inhabit open gibber (stony) and clay plains of the Lake Eyre basin. While the population and distribution has been greatly reduced since European settlement, the current population shows little evidence of significant decline and is consequently listed as 'Near Threatened'.
Hydromyini is a very large, diverse tribe of muroid rodents in the subfamily Murinae. They are the dominant native rodents in Australasia and one of only two native rodent groups there, the other being the R. fuscipes group of the genus Rattus in the tribe Rattini. They are also found in parts of Southeast Asia.
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