This is the list of rodents of Australia. Australia has a large number of indigenous rodents, all from the family Muridae. The "Old endemics" group are member of tribe

Hydromyini 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 ''Rat ...

. They have reached Australasia between 11 - 9 million years ago from asia. And the "New endemics" group are member of tribe

rattini Rattini is a very large, diverse tribe of muroid rodents in the subfamily Murinae. They are found throughout Asia and Australasia, with a few species ranging into Europe and northern Africa. The most well-known members of this group are the true r ...

. They are presumed to have arrived more recently between 4 - 3 million years from Asia. The black rat,

brown rat The brown rat (''Rattus norvegicus''), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Norwegian rat and Parisian rat, is a widespread species of common rat. One of the largest muroids, it is a brown o ...

Pacific rat The Polynesian rat, Pacific rat or little rat (''Rattus exulans''), known to the Māori as ''kiore'', is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. The Polynesian rat originated in Southeast Asia, a ...

and house mouse were accidentally introduced to Australia with European settlement, as was a small population of the five-lined palm squirrel near

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

Old "endemics" *

Muridae

* White-footed rabbit-rat^†, ''Conilurus albipes'' - extinct *

Brush-tailed rabbit rat The brush-tailed rabbit rat (''Conilurus penicillatus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Australia and Papua New Guinea. Taxonomy The brush-tailed rabbit-rat is one of three ''Conilurus'' species that were extan ...

, ''Conilurus penicillatus'' *

Rakali The rakali (''Hydromys chrysogaster)'', also known as the rabe or water-rat, is an Australian native rodent first described in 1804. Adoption of the Aboriginal name Rakali is intended to foster a positive public attitude by Environment Australia ...

(water rat), ''Hydromys chrysogaster'' * Forrest's mouse, ''Leggadina forresti'' *

Lakeland Downs mouse The Lakeland Downs mouse (''Leggadina lakedownensis'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Australia. Its natural habitat is dry savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodl ...

, ''Leggadina lakedownensis'' * Lesser stick-nest rat^†, ''Leporillus apicalis'' - extinct * Greater stick-nest rat, ''Leporillus conditor'' *

Broad-toothed mouse The broad-toothed rat (''Mastacomys fuscus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. Distribution and habitat It is found only in South-eastern Australia. In Victoria live specimens have been caught in the Snowfields, Great Dividing Ra ...

, ''Mastacomys fuscus'' * Grassland melomys, ''Melomys burtoni'' * Cape York melomys, ''Melomys capensis'' * Fawn-footed melomys, ''Melomys cervinipes'' *

Bramble Cay melomys The Bramble Cay melomys, or Bramble Cay mosaic-tailed rat (''Melomys rubicola''), is a recently extinct species of rodent in the family Muridae and subfamily Murinae. It was an endemic species of the isolated Bramble Cay, a low-lying vegetate ...

^†, ''Melomys rubicola'' - extinct *

Black-footed tree-rat The black-footed tree-rat (''Mesembriomys gouldii''), 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 ('' M. ...

, ''Mesembriomys gouldi'' *

Golden-backed tree-rat The golden-backed tree rat (''Mesembriomys macrurus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae, found only in Australia. It is present in the Charnley River–Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary Charnley River–Artesian Range Wildlife ...

, ''Mesembriomys macrurus'' *

Spinifex hopping mouse The spinifex hopping mouse (''Notomys alexis''), also known as the tarkawara or tarrkawarra, occurs throughout the central and western Australian arid zones, occupying both spinifex-covered sand flats and stabilised sand dunes, and loamy mulga ...

, ''Notomys alexis'' *

Short-tailed hopping mouse The short-tailed hopping mouse (''Notomys amplus'') is an extinct species of mouse from open stony (gibber) plains with desert grasses, low shrubs and sand ridges in the area around Charlotte Waters, near Alice Springs in Central Australia. It w ...

^†, ''Notomys amplus'' - extinct *

Northern hopping mouse The northern hopping mouse (''Notomys aquilo'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in coastal northern Australia, from Arnhem Land to the Cobourg Peninsula. This mouse weighs 25 to 30 grams and is brown above and whi ...

, ''Notomys aquilo'' *

Fawn hopping mouse The fawn hopping mouse (''Notomys cervinus'') is a rodent native to the central Australian desert. Like all hopping mice it has strong front teeth, a long tail, dark eyes, big ears, well-developed haunches and very long, narrow hind feet. It weigh ...

, ''Notomys cervinus'' *

Dusky hopping mouse The dusky hopping mouse (''Notomys fuscus''), is a small rodent endemic to Australia, inhabiting desert regions characterised by sand dunes. Populations have experienced significant declines since the arrival of Europeans, and continue to be subject ...

, ''Notomys fuscus'' *

Long-tailed hopping mouse The long-tailed hopping mouse (''Notomys longicaudatus'') is an extinct species of rodent in the family Muridae. It was found only in Australia. It is known from a handful of specimens, the last of which was collected in 1901 or possibly 1902. It ...

^†, ''Notomys longicaudatus'' - extinct *

Big-eared hopping mouse The big-eared hopping mouse (''Notomys macrotis'') is an extinct species of mouse, which lived in the Moore River area of south-western Australia. The big-eared hopping mouse was a small, rat-sized animal resembling a tiny kangaroo. It had large ...

^†, ''Notomys macrotis'' - extinct * Mitchell's hopping mouse, ''Notomys mitchelli'' * Darling Downs hopping mouse^†, ''Notomys mordax'' - extinct * Great hopping mouse^†, ''Notomys robustus''- extinct *

Prehensile-tailed rat The prehensile-tailed rat (''Pogonomys mollipilosus'') is a species of rodent that can be found in New Guinea and Australia; it occurs in the tropical rainforest of Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Aust ...

, ''Pogonomys mollipilosus'' * Ash-grey mouse, ''Pseudomys albocinereus'' * Silky mouse, ''Pseudomys apodemoides'' * Plains rat, ''Pseudomys australis'' * Bolam's mouse, ''Pseudomys bolami'' * Kakadu pebble-mound mouse, ''Pseudomys calabyi'' * Western pebble-mound mouse, ''Pseudomys chapmani'' *

Little native mouse The little native mouse (''Pseudomys delicatulus''), also known as the delicate mouse, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. The Kunwinjku of western Arnhem Land call this little creature Kijbuk. It is found in Western Australia, the No ...

, ''Pseudomys delicatulus'' * Desert mouse, ''Pseudomys desertor'' * Shark Bay mouse, ''Pseudomys fieldi'' * Smoky mouse, ''Pseudomys fumeus'' * Blue-grey mouse^†, ''Pseudomys glaucus'' - extinct * Gould's mouse^†, ''Pseudomys gouldi'' - extinct * Eastern chestnut mouse, ''Pseudomys gracilicaudatus'' * Sandy inland mouse, ''Pseudomys hermannsburgensis'' *

Long-tailed mouse The long-tailed mouse (''Pseudomys higginsi'') 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 plan ...

, ''Pseudomys higginsi'' * Central pebble-mound mouse, ''Pseudomys johnsoni'' * Kimberley mouse, ''Pseudomys laborifex'' * Western chestnut mouse, ''Pseudomys nanus'' *

New Holland mouse The New Holland mouse (''Pseudomys novaehollandiae'') 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 Natio ...

, ''Pseudomys novaehollandiae'' * Western mouse, ''Pseudomys occidentalis'' * Hastings River mouse, ''Pseudomys oralis'' *

Pilliga mouse ''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 ...

, ''Pseudomys pilligaensis'' * Eastern pebble-mound mouse, ''Pseudomys patrius'' *

Heath mouse The heath mouse (''Pseudomys shortridgei'') is a species of mouse in the subfamily Murinae, the Old World rats and mice, found in Australia. Taxonomy A description of the species, based on material collected by Guy Shortridge at "Woyaline, ea ...

, ''Pseudomys shortridgei'' * Giant white-tailed rat, ''Uromys caudimaculatus'' * Masked white-tailed rat, ''Uromys hadrourus'' * False water rat, ''Xeromys myoides'' * Common rock rat, ''Zyzomys argurus'' *

Arnhem Land rock rat The Arnhem Land rock rat (''Zyzomys maini'') also known as the Arnhem rock-rat and by the Indigenous Australian name of kodjperr is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in the Top End Region of the Northern Territory in Aust ...

, ''Zyzomys maini'' *

Carpentarian rock rat The Carpentarian rock rat (''Zyzomys palatalis'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Australia. Taxonomy The description of the species was published by Darrell Kitchener in 1989, emerging from a revision of the g ...

, ''Zyzomys palatalis'' * Central rock rat, ''Zyzomys pedunculatus'' *

Kimberley rock rat The Kimberley rock rat (''Zyzomys woodwardi'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Australia, specifically in the northern tropical part of the Northern Territory and adjacent Kimberley region of Western Australia ...

, ''Zyzomys woodwardi''

New "endemics" *

Muridae

Dusky rat The dusky rat (''Rattus colletti'') is an indigenous species of rodent in the family Muridae found in Australia. Name Kunwinjku people of western Arnhem Land call this animal ''mulbbu'', a name also applied to other rodent species. It was firs ...

, ''Rattus colletti'' *

Bush rat The bush rat or Australian bush rat (''Rattus fuscipes'') is a small Australian nocturnal animal. It is an omnivore and one of the most common indigenous species of rat on the continent, found in many heathland areas of Victoria and New South ...

, ''Rattus fuscipes'' *

Cape York rat The Cape York rat (''Rattus leucopus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are the largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 1,383 species, including many species of mice, rats, and g ...

, ''Rattus leucopus'' * Swamp rat, ''Rattus lutreolus'' * Canefield rat, ''Rattus sordidus'' *

Pale field rat The pale field rat (''Rattus tunneyi'') 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 an ...

, ''Rattus tunneyi'' * Long-haired rat, ''Rattus villosissimus''

Introduced

Muridae

* House mouse^¤, ''Mus musculus'' *

^¤, ''Rattus exulans'' *

Brown rat The brown rat (''Rattus norvegicus''), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Norwegian rat and Parisian rat, is a widespread species of common rat. One of the largest muroids, it is a brown o ...

^¤, ''Rattus norvegicus'' * Black rat^¤, ''Rattus Rattus''

Sciuridae Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

* Five-lined palm squirrel^¤, ''Funambulus pennantii'' *

Grey squirrel The eastern gray squirrel (''Sciurus carolinensis''), also known, particularly outside of North America, as simply the grey squirrel, is a tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus''. It is native to eastern North America, where it is the most prodi ...

^¤, ''Sciurus carolinensis'' - now extinct in Australia

Notes

^† Extinct ^¤ Introduced * Several of these species are not actually

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to Australia, but to the

Australasian realm The Australasian realm is a biogeographic realm that is coincident with, but not (by some definitions) the same as, the geographical region of Australasia. The realm includes Australia, the island of New Guinea (comprising Papua New Guinea and th ...

, which includes

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and eastern

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. The headings "Old Endemics" and "New Endemics" are used here in that sense (after StrahanStrahan, R. (ed.) (1995) ''The Mammals of Australia'', Revised (second) Edition, Reed New Holland, Sydney ).

References

External links

Species listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:List of rodents of Australia Rodents

Old "endemics" *

Muridae

New "endemics" *

Muridae

Introduced

Muridae

Sciuridae Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

Notes

See also

References

External links