| Western chestnut mouse | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Muridae |
| Genus: | Pseudomys |
| Species: | P. nanus |
| Binomial name | |
| Pseudomys nanus (Gould, 1858) | |
The western chestnut mouse (Pseudomys nanus) 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. [1] [2]
P. nanus inhabits grasslands and open stands of eucalypt on sandy soil. [1] It is mainly nocturnal and spends the day in a grass nest. Its diet is mostly made up of native grasses and seeds. Breeding occurs most often during the wet season, but the species may breed throughout the year under favourable conditions. [3] Females give birth to between three and five young, after a gestation period of 22–24 days. Fully grown adult mice weigh around 70 g and have an average body length of 10 cm. [4]
Studies in 1999 showed that the species has an excellent capacity for repleting glycogen following exertion, even if they do not eat. [5]
Populations of western chestnut mouse in the Northern Territory have declined substantially since European colonisation of Australia, with one study identifying a 24% reduction in the extent of occurrence and a 25% reduction in the breadth of occupied environmental space. [6] A significant contraction towards areas of higher rainfall and higher vegetation cover was observed, which are likely refuge habitats that help to buffer the impacts of feral cat predation. [6]
The northern quoll, also known as the northern native cat, the North Australian native cat or the satanellus is a carnivorous marsupial native to Australia.
The northern brown bandicoot, a marsupial species, is a bandicoot found only on the northern and eastern coasts of Australia and nearby islands, mainly Papua New Guinea. It is not, however, found far inland.
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 long-tailed mouse is a native Australian mammal in the Order Rodentia and the Family Muridae. It is found only on the island of Tasmania. The long-tailed mouse is an omnivore that feeds on insects and a range of plants. It is found in forested areas, particularly in sub-alpine scree, and may live in burrows.
The Tanami Desert is a desert in northern Australia, situated in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
The black-footed tree-rat, also known as Djintamoonga, is one of two endemic Australian rodent species in the genus Mesembriomys. Both the black-footed tree-rat and its congener, the golden-backed tree-rat, are found in northern Australia. The species is one of the largest murids found in Australia.
The fawn antechinus is a species of small carnivorous marsupial found in northern Australia. It is the only Antechinus to be found in the Northern Territory and has a patchy, restricted range.
The heath mouse is a species of mouse in the subfamily Murinae, the Old World rats and mice, found in Australia.
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 pale field rat is a small rat endemic to Australia. It is a nocturnal and herbivorous rodent that resides throughout the day in shallow burrows made in loose sand. Once widespread, the range has become greatly reduced and it is restricted to the grasslands, sedges, and cane-fields at the north and east of the continent. The fur is an attractive yellow-brown colour, with grey or cream at the underside. This medium-sized rat has a tail shorter than its body.
The brush-tailed rabbit rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Australia and Papua New Guinea.
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.
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.
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 desert mouse, also known as the brown desert mouse, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is endemic to Australia. The first desert mouse specimen was collected by Australian zoologist Gerard Krefft on the Blandowski Expedition in 1856-57, between Gol Gol Creek and the Darling River.
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.
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.
The savanna glider is a species of arboreal gliding possum in the genus Petaurus.
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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