Pebble-mound mouse | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Muridae |
Genus: | Pseudomys |
Species group: | Pebble-mound mice |
Species | |
Pebble-mound mice are a group of rodents from Australia in the genus Pseudomys . They are small, brownish mice with medium to long, often pinkish brown tails. Unlike some other species of Pseudomys, they construct mounds of pebbles around their burrows, which play an important role in their social life.
There are four complementarily distributed species of pebble-mound mice in northern Australia. Their distribution appears to be limited by climatic conditions and the availability of pebbles and is thought to be the result of early Pleistocene dispersal across areas that are now inhospitable to pebble-mound mice. None of the four species is endangered.
Pebble-mound mice also known as field mice comprise four species, which have complementary distributions across northern Australia. [1] The four species are as follows:
Pebble-mound mice are currently classified within the genus Pseudomys , a diverse group that includes morphologically and behaviorally disparate species. [6] The four pebble-mound mice form a cohesive group supported by behavioral, morphological, and molecular similarities and may deserve recognition as a separate genus. [7] [8]
Pebble-mound mice are small, mouse-like animals, about 12 to 15 grams (0.42 to 0.53 oz) in mass. [1] The upperparts are brownish, from grey-brown in some Kakadu pebble-mound mice to yellow-brown in the eastern pebble-mound mouse. The underparts are white and are sharply demarcated from the upperparts except in the eastern pebble-mound mouse. The tail ranges from about as long as the head and body in the Kakadu pebble-mound mouse to much longer in the western pebble-mound mouse. It is brown or grey above and white below in the central pebble-mound mouse and uniformly pinkish brown in the other species. [9] Pebble-mound mice are morphologically readily recognizable [10] and share a pseudogene that is absent in other groups. They are unique among murid rodents in exhibiting mutations in the ZPc gene that change the protein sequence. [8]
Pebble-mound mice are found in areas with suitable amounts of available pebbles across tropical Australia. [1] They occur in areas with hot summers and mild winters, with precipitation mainly during the summer. They generally live in open, rocky areas with the vegetation dominated by Eucalyptus trees, but the distributions of the Kakadu and eastern pebble-mound mice also includes areas with denser vegetation and that of the western pebble-mound mouse is dominated by Acacia instead. [11] The distribution of pebble-mound mice is limited by suitable climate and by the availability of pebbles. Competition with other rodents is unlikely to play a major role. [12] The distribution of pebble-mound mice, especially the western pebble-mound mouse, is slowly shrinking because of expanding arid areas, leading to fragmentation of their habitat. [13]
Currently, the western and eastern pebble-mound mice are each separated from the central and Kakadu pebble-mound mice by large swathes of unsuitable, sandy habitat. These areas may have been bridges by rocky habitats until the early Pleistocene, suggesting that the current distribution of pebble-mound mice dates at least from that period. [14]
Pebble-mound mice are the only mammals to create mounds of small stones around their burrows. The mice carry the pebbles in their mouths in a radius of 3 to 5 m (9.8 to 16.4 ft) around the nest and move them into location with their forelimbs. Mounds may cover areas of up to 10 m2 (110 sq ft) and include up to 50 kg (110 lb) of pebbles, concentrated near burrow entrances, above burrows, and against trees. Because resources are sparse, home ranges tend to be relatively large and may be greater than 5 hectares (12 acres).
The function of the mounds may be one of protection against predators. Pebble mounds are at the center of social life at least in the two best-studied species, the western and eastern pebble-mound mice. In western pebble-mound mice, mounds have been found to contain up to 14 individuals, but social groups in eastern pebble-mound mice are smaller. Young animals are raised in the mounds. For unclear reasons, females visit and manipulate different mounds. Females only disperse to adjacent mounds, but males may move longer distances, though they remain in pebbly areas. [15] [4] Male eastern pebble-mound mice may move up to 2 km (1.2 mi) in a single night. [16]
The IUCN currently lists three of the four species as "Least Concern" because of their wide distribution and occurrence in protected areas. The population size of the central pebble-mound mouse appears to be stable [17] and while the western and eastern species are declining, their decline is unlikely to be fast enough to qualify for one of the IUCN's other categories. [18] [19] The Kakadu pebble-mound mouse is listed as "Vulnerable" because of its small and declining distribution and because it does not occur in meaningful protected areas. [20]
Gould's mouse, also known as the Shark Bay mouse and djoongari in the Pintupi and Luritja languages, is a species of rodent in the murid family. Once ranging throughout Australia from Western Australia to New South Wales, its range has since been reduced to five islands off the coast of Western Australia.
Pseudomys is a genus of rodent that contains a wide variety of mice native to Australia and New Guinea. They are among the few terrestrial placental mammals that colonised Australia without human intervention.
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 Lakeland Downs mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Australia. Its natural habitat is dry savanna.
The ash-grey mouse is a rodent in the family Muridae. Larger and more robust than Mus musculus, the common house mouse, it is found only in Southwest Australia.
The silky mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Australia.
Bolam's mouse is a species of nocturnal, burrowing rodent in the family Muridae that inhabits the semi arid and southern arid regions of Australia. It has a number of physiological and behavioural adaptations developed to cope with an extremely varied climate. Including the ability survive by extracting water from seeds alone, the production of highly concentrated urine, low water content faeces and nocturnal activity.
Western pebble-mound mouse or Ngadji is a burrowing and mound building rodent in the family Muridae. They occur in the Pilbara, a remote region in the northwest of Australia.
The little native mouse, also known as the delicate mouse, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. The Kunwinjku people of western Arnhem Land call this little creature kijbuk.
The smoky mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae native to southeastern Australia. It was first described in 1934 and its species name is Latin for "smoky". As its name suggests, it is a grey-furred mouse, darker grey above and paler smoky grey below. Mice from the Grampians are larger and a darker more slate-grey above. It has a black eye-ring and dark grey muzzle. The feet are light pink, and the ears a grey-pink. The tail is longer than the mouse's body, and is pink with a brownish stripe along the top. Mice from east of Melbourne average around 35 grams and have 107 mm long bodies with 116 mm long tails, while those from the Grampians are around 65 grams and have 122 mm long bodies with 132 mm long tails.
The western chestnut mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is native to northern Australia and various close islands, with the vast majority found in Queensland and the Northern Territory.
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 western mouse or walyadji is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. Once widespread across a larger range, it has become restricted to around ten reserves of remnant bushland in Southwest Australia and declared near threatened by extinction. They are small and robust mice that live in burrows in sandy soil, venturing out at night to forage in nearby area.
The Hastings River mouse is a species of Australian rodent in the subfamily Murinae of the family Muridae. It is found only in Australia.
The country mouse also known as the pebble-mound mouse or eastern pebble mound mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It lives only in Australia, where it is considered rare. It was described by Thomas and Dollman in 1909.
Pseudomys pilligaensis, commonly known as the Pilliga mouse or poolkoo, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. Its distribution comprises the Pilliga forest region of New South Wales, Australia, specimens have also been trapped in the Warrumbungle National Park and Weetalibah Nature Reserve. Its conservation status is currently listed as "Data Deficient" due to unresolved questions on its taxonomic status.
The Arnhem Land rock rat also known as the Arnhem rock-rat and by the Indigenous Australian name of kodjperr is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in the Top End Region of the Northern Territory in Australia.
The Kakadu pebble-mound mouse is a rodent native to Australia. It is one of the pebble-mound mice.
The central pebble-mound mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae, native to Australia. The Kimberley mouse was, until recently, considered distinct from P. johnsoni, but they are now known to be conspecific. It is one of the pebble-mound mice.