Heath Mouse
Encyclopedia
The Heath Mouse is one of the larger pseudomyine rodents found in Australia
with a body mass of 55-90g, head and body length of 90-120 mm and a tail length of 80-110 mm (Cockburn 2000). Its fur is grey brown dorsally, flecked with buff and black, with a distinctly paler belly. Dark guard hair
s cover the upper portions of the body and give the heath mouse a fluffy appearance. The feet are brown but slightly paler than the body. Heath mice, superficially, are very similar to the bush rat
(Rattus fuscipes) but they can be distinguished by the shape of the posthallucal pad on the pes (Cooper 1994).
The head of the heath mouse is characteristically blunt, with a roman nose
and bulging eyes, which is a characteristic shared by the majority of the Pseudomys
genus (Watts and Aslin 1981). Another common characteristic of Pseudomys, which is also the second morphological character that helps to distinguish the heath mouse from the bush rat is the haired tail with distinct bi-colouration (dark above – light beneath) (Cooper 1994). The tail is also shorter than the body length and non annulated (Wells 1991; Cockburn 2000).
This species is listed as threatened in the states of Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
with a body mass of 55-90g, head and body length of 90-120 mm and a tail length of 80-110 mm (Cockburn 2000). Its fur is grey brown dorsally, flecked with buff and black, with a distinctly paler belly. Dark guard hair
Guard hair
Guard hairs are the longest, coarsest hairs in a mammal's coat, forming the topcoat . They taper to a point and protect the undercoat from the elements. They are often water repellent and stick out above the rest of the coat...
s cover the upper portions of the body and give the heath mouse a fluffy appearance. The feet are brown but slightly paler than the body. Heath mice, superficially, are very similar to the bush rat
Bush Rat
The bush rat is a small Australian nocturnal animal. It is an omnivore. It is one of the most common species of rats and is found in many heathland areas of Victoria and NSW...
(Rattus fuscipes) but they can be distinguished by the shape of the posthallucal pad on the pes (Cooper 1994).
The head of the heath mouse is characteristically blunt, with a roman nose
Roman Nose
Roman Nose, a.k.a. Hook Nose , was a Native American of the Northern Cheyenne, and possibly the greatest and most influential warrior during the Plains Indian War of the 1860s...
and bulging eyes, which is a characteristic shared by the majority of the Pseudomys
Pseudomys
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.-Natural history:...
genus (Watts and Aslin 1981). Another common characteristic of Pseudomys, which is also the second morphological character that helps to distinguish the heath mouse from the bush rat is the haired tail with distinct bi-colouration (dark above – light beneath) (Cooper 1994). The tail is also shorter than the body length and non annulated (Wells 1991; Cockburn 2000).
This species is listed as threatened in the states of Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.