| Western pebble-mound mouse | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Muridae |
| Genus: | Pseudomys |
| Species: | P. chapmani |
| Binomial name | |
| Pseudomys chapmani D.J. Kitchener, 1980 | |
Western pebble-mound mouse or Ngadji (Pseudomys chapmani) 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 species was described by D.J. Kitchener in 1980. [2] The population was formerly assumed to be species Pseudomys hermannsburgensis . The description is based on a specimen that was collected at Mount Meharry (West Angelas Mine Site). [3] The specific honours the biologist Andrew Chapman, who worked at the mammal department of the W.A. Museum. [2]
The common name according to the Census of Australian Vertebrates (ABRS 2001) is "Pebble-mound Mouse", [4] a name given to sister taxon P. hermannsburgensis and so appended with 'Western' by the author of the species and others in later publications. [5] The earlier name of 'sandy inland mouse' became applied in treatments as P. hermannsburgensis. The extant name of the animal in the language of its region is Ngadji. [6]
The type specimen was collected by J.N. Dunlop in 1979, using a pit trapping method. A revision by Kitchener of specimens in the collection at the W.A. museum revealed morphological differences, observed in the Dunlop specimen, in previous collections of P. hermannsburgensis, including those made at Woodstock Homestead in the Pilbara. [2]
The colour of the mouse's pelt is buff brown, darker to blackish at the head. The paws are white beneath and buff above, The underparts are white, up to the throat and mouth. The species resembles the related P. hermannburgensis, the morphology is distinguished by smaller ears, feet and tail. The feet do not exceed 16 millimetres in length. [3]
It is native to and found only in Western Australia, where it lives in pebbly soils in arid tussock grassland and acacia woodland. Like other pebble-mound mice, the western pebble-mound mouse creates its own microhabitat by scattering a mound of pebbles around its burrows. The air temperature around the pebbles warms up faster in the morning than the pebbles themselves, causing the formation of small droplets of dew by condensation.
The vegetation at the preferred habitat, hummock grasslands, is Triodia basedowii , Cassia . Acacia and Ptilotus , and it is associated with eroding sands at natural features which expose small stones (pebbles). [3] The species at the type location were the spinifex Triodia basedowii and T. pungens , Acacia aneura , and Cassia desolata and C. helmsii , these cassias intermittently occur with Eucalyptus gamophylla and E. oleosa at the surrounding gibber plain. [2]
The species occurs as disjunct populations within its range. The range is subject to changes in land use resulting in loss of habitat, and noted as contracting. [3]
According to the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the species is restricted to the non-coastal, central and eastern parts of the Pilbara, Western Australia. It was formerly more widespread.
Collier Range National Park is a national park in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 878 km (546 mi) northeast of Perth.
The little red kaluta is a small, reddish-brown, shrew-like mammal native to dry grasslands of northwest Australia. It is active at night, feeding on insects and other small animals. The kaluta is a marsupial and is the only member of its genus, Dasykaluta. Individuals are around 10 cm (3.9 in) long and weigh from 20 to 40 g. They live for about four years in captivity. Other common names include little red antechinus, russet antechinus and spinifex antechinus.
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 Wongai ningaui is a tiny carnivorous marsupial native to the arid open grasslands of inland Australia. Their diet is mainly small insects, and occasionally larger prey such as spiders, grasshoppers and cockroaches, which they forage for at the ground and in clumps of spinifex. They have long and untidy fur, grey or gingery brown with longer black hairs, small ears, a narrow muzzle, and possess a partially prehensile tail and feet that allow them to climb. The population occurs sparsely across a wide area and common in favourable habitat, especially in years of good rainfall. Ningaui ridei was first described in 1975, one of two species of a new genus discovered amongst the poorly known mammals of the western regions of Australia.
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 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 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 blue-gray mouse is an Australian rodent species that is only known by a few specimens found in Eastern Australia, and since presumed to have become extinct.
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 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 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 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.
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.
Triodia basedowii, commonly known as lobed spinifex, is a species of tussock-forming grass-like plant found in Australia.
Taxonomic Decision for Subspecies Arrangement: Condon, H.T. 1975.
