Pseudomys
Encyclopedia
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 mammal
s that colonised Australia without human
intervention.
from rainforest
s to plain
s and grassland
s. The animals are nocturnal and spend the day in burrow
s. Food also varies with some species eating seed
s, root
s and insect
s while others feed primarily on grass
es. The pebble-mound mice
are unique in creating mounds of stones around their burrows. Several species of Pseudomys are threatened due to competition with introduced species and habitat destruction
. Several others are probably extinct.
.
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
that contains a wide variety of mice
Mouse
A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
native to 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...
and New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. They are among the few terrestrial
Terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
placental mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s that colonised Australia without human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
intervention.
Natural history
This genus contains a number of species with different habits making generalisation difficult. The overall body size varies widely, ranging from 60–160 mm. The tail is 60–180 mm and the weight is recorded from 12–90 g. They inhabit a wide variety of habitatsHabitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...
from rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
s to plain
Plain
In geography, a plain is land with relatively low relief, that is flat or gently rolling. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or...
s and grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
s. The animals are nocturnal and spend the day in burrow
Burrow
A burrow is a hole or tunnel dug into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of shelter against predation and exposure to the elements, so the burrowing way of life is quite popular among the...
s. Food also varies with some species eating seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s, root
Root
In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial or aerating . Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either...
s and insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s while others feed primarily on grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
es. The pebble-mound mice
Pebble-mound mouse
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. They construct mounds of pebbles around their burrows, which play an important role in their social life.There are four complementarily...
are unique in creating mounds of stones around their burrows. Several species of Pseudomys are threatened due to competition with introduced species and habitat destruction
Habitat destruction
Habitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, the organisms that previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity. Habitat destruction by human activity mainly for the purpose of...
. Several others are probably extinct.
Etymology
The name Pseudomys means "false mouse" presumably in reference to both its similarity and uniqueness from "true mice" in the genus MusMouse
A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
.
Species
Genus Pseudomys - Australian native mice- Ash-grey Mouse, Pseudomys albocinereus
- Silky MouseSilky MouseThe Silky Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found only in Australia.-References:* Baillie, J. 1996. . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
, Pseudomys apodemoides - Plains Rat, Pseudomys australis
- Bolam's MouseBolam's MouseBolam's Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found only in Australia.-References:* Rodent Specialist Group 1996. . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
, Pseudomys bolami - Kakadu Pebble-mound MouseKakadu Pebble-mound MouseThe Kakadu Pebble-mound Mouse is a rodent native to Australia. It is one of the pebble-mound mice....
, Pseudomys calabyi - Western Pebble-mound MouseWestern Pebble-Mound MouseThe Western Pebble-mound Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is native to and found only in Australia, where it lives in pebbly soils in arid tussock grassland and acacia woodland...
, Pseudomys chapmani - Little Native MouseLittle Native MouseThe Little Native Mouse also known as the Delicate Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales and Papua New Guinea....
, Pseudomys delicatulus - Desert Mouse, Pseudomys desertor
- Shark Bay MouseShark Bay MouseThe Shark Bay Mouse, Djoongari or Alice Springs Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Australia, restricted to four islands in the Shark Bay area. It was once found throughout the western two thirds of Australia but it suffered greatly after the arrival of...
, Pseudomys fieldi - Smoky MouseSmoky MouseThe Smoky Mouse, Fausse Souris Fuligineuse, or Raton Bastardo Fumoso 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 "smoky". As its name suggests, it is a grey-furred mouse, darker grey above and paler...
, Pseudomys fumeus - Blue-Gray MouseBlue-Gray MouseThe Blue-gray Mouse or Blue-grey Mouse is an extinct species of rodent in the family Muridae. It was found only in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia....
, Pseudomys glaucus † - Gould's MouseGould's MouseGould's Mouse lived in eastern inland Australia, and was named after John Gould's wife, Elizabeth. It was slightly smaller than a black rat, and quite social, living in small family groups that sheltered by day in a nest of soft, dry grass in a burrow. It usually dug burrows at a depth of 15 cm...
, Pseudomys gouldii † - Eastern Chestnut MouseEastern Chestnut MouseThe Eastern Chestnut Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found only in Australia.-References:* Baillie, J. 1996. . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
, Pseudomys gracilicaudatus - Sandy Inland MouseSandy Inland MouseThe Sandy Inland Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found only in Australia.-References:* Baillie, J. 1996. . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
, Pseudomys hermannsburgensis - Long-tailed MouseLong-tailed MouseThe long-tailed mouse is a native Australian rodent 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 species reaches a weight of about...
, Pseudomys higginsi - Central Pebble-mound MouseCentral Pebble-mound MouseThe 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.-References:* Baillie, J. 1996....
, Pseudomys johnsoni- Kimberley Mouse, Pseudomys (laborifex) johnsoni
- Western Chestnut MouseWestern Chestnut MouseThe Western Chestnut Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found only in Australia.-References:* Baillie, J. 1996. . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
, Pseudomys nanus - New Holland MouseNew Holland MouseThe New Holland Mouse 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...
, Pseudomys novaehollandiae - Western MouseWestern MouseThe Western Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. Its Australian Aborigine name is Walyadji. It is found only in Australia....
, Pseudomys occidentalis - Hastings River MouseHastings River MouseThe Hastings River Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found only in Australia.-Habitat:These rodents often prefer damp and moist environments, along drainage lines if necessary...
, Pseudomys oralis - Country MouseCountry MouseThe Country Mouse also known as the Pebble-Mound Mouse or Eastern Pebble Mound Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found only in Australia...
, Pseudomys patrius - Pilliga MousePilliga MouseThe Pilliga Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found only in the Pilliga forest region of New South Wales, Australia.-References:* Baillie, J. 1996. . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
, Pseudomys pilligaensis - Heath MouseHeath MouseThe 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 . Its fur is grey brown dorsally, flecked with buff and black, with a distinctly paler belly...
, Pseudomys shortridgei - Pseudomys vandycki † (Late Pliocene of Australia)