Dusky hopping-mouse
Common name: dusky hopping-mouse
Scientific name: Notomys fuscus
Family: Muridae (rats and mice)
Conservation status: The dusky hopping-mouse is listed as Endangered in Queensland (Nature Conservation Act 1992) and in New South Wales (Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995) and Vulnerable nationally (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999). It is ranked as a low priority under the Department of Environment and Resource Management Back on Track species prioritisation framework.
Description
The dusky hopping-mouse is a small nocturnal rodent with an average head and body measurement of 9.5 cm, an average tail length of 14 cm and an average weight of 32 g. It is a light orange to grey colour above and white below. Both sexes have a well-developed throat-pouch with distinct fleshy margins that are covered with stiff, white, inward-pointing hairs.
Habitat and distribution
This species was once found more widely in central Australia but is now only patchily distributed in north-eastern South Australia (southern Strzelecki Desert and the Cobblers Desert), far north-west New South Wales and south-western Queensland. Since 1985 specimens have been collected from Carraweena, Montecollina Bore and Quinyambie Station, South Australia, and from Pelican Waterhole, near Betoota in south-western Queensland.
The dusky hopping-mouse is found in sand ridge habitats, which alternate with gibber flats (flat desert covered with boulders and small stones) and clay pans in the Pelican Waterhole area. It occurs in the same area as the fawn hopping-mouse Notomys cervinus; although the dusky hopping-mouse burrows only in the sand dunes while the fawn hopping-mouse burrows in clay soils.
Life history and behaviour
The dusky hopping-mouse spends its life in the dunes. Its burrow can be more than a metre below the surface and up to 5 m long with multiple vertical shafts leading to pop-holes of approximately 3 cm diameter. A nest chamber, consisting of a mat or ball of finely chewed vegetation, is placed in an alcove off a horizontal tunnel. Usually about five individuals will live in one or two adjacent burrow systems. At night they forage on the top and sides of the dune. Like other members of its genus, the dusky hopping-mouse does not need to drink but gains all of its water and food requirements from a diet of seeds, green plants, occasional insects and even small lizards.
Little is known of its breeding behaviour in the wild. In captivity it will breed all year round. The gestation period is 38-41 days and litters of one to five are reared.
Threatening processes
The likely main reasons for the decline of this species are:
- predation by feral cats (Felis catus) and foxes (Vulpes vulpes).
- grazing pressure from stock.
- competition for food and habitat from the introduced house mouse (Mus musculus) and rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) (DSEWPaC 2011).
Recovery actions
- The threat posed by cats and foxes should be reduced or eliminated by implementing control or eradication programs.
- Management of rabbits and domestic stock is required to prevent further destruction of perennial plant cover and to maintain dune stability.
Last updated 7 December 2011