The desert mouse (''Pseudomys desertor''), also known as the brown desert mouse, is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

in the family

Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are either the largest or second-largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 870 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. ...

. It is endemic to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The first desert mouse specimen was collected by Australian zoologist

Gerard Krefft Johann Ludwig (Louis) Gerard Krefft (17 February 1830 – 18 February 1881), was an Australian artist, draughtsman, scientist, and natural historian who served as the curator of the Australian Museum for 13 years (1861–1874). He was one of A ...

on the Blandowski Expedition in 1856-57, between Gol Gol Creek and the

Darling River The Darling River (or River Darling; Paakantyi: ''Baaka'' or ''Barka''), is the third-longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth. Including its long ...

Description

The desert mouse has bright chestnut brown fur above, interspersed with long dark guard hairs which give it a spiny appearance. Its belly fur is a light grey-brown. The tail looks scaly and slightly bi-coloured, with length equal to or shorter than the animal's head-body length. A defining feature of the desert mouse is its pale orange eye-ring, which may be used to distinguish it from the Western chestnut mouse ''Pseudomys nanus'' where their habitat overlaps in the northern

Tanami Desert The Tanami Desert () is a desert in northern Australia, situated in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. It has a rocky terrain and small hills. The Tanami was the Northern Territory's final frontier and was not fully explored by Austral ...

. Typical measurements for the desert mouse are 70–105 mm for head-body length, and 67–103 mm for tail length. Weight is between 15-35 g.

Distribution and habitat

Widespread throughout the arid zone of Australia, the desert mouse also inhabits in the north dry

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

h region of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. Its preferred habitat ranges from sand dunes with spinifex to rocky hillsides, which it uses to create shallow burrows. Fossilized remains of the desert mouse have been found from

Cape Range National Park Cape Range National Park is a national park in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia, north of Perth. The park occupies the western side of the North West Cape peninsula over an area of . The nearest town is Exmouth, and directly off the c ...

and the

Nullarbor Plain The Nullarbor Plain ( ; Latin: feminine of 'no' and 'tree') is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its no ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, to the northern

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain ranges in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhab ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, and

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropics, tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface are ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. When combined with modern records, these fossil records suggest that the species once had an even more extensive range across arid Australia.

Behaviour

Diet

Predominantly a

folivore In zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less energy than other types of foods, and often toxic compounds.Jones, S., Martin, R., & Pilbeam, D. (1 ...

, the desert mouse has also been known to eat seeds and invertebrates when leaves and shoots are less widely available. Laboratory studies of the desert mouse have found its water requirements to be quite low.

Reproduction

The reproduction rate of the desert mouse is very high, even when compared with other species in the

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 This genus con ...

genus. This allows populations to increase rapidly after periods of suitable rainfall. Females are sexually receptive and fertile in a 7-9 day cycle. The

gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregn ...

period lasts 27–28 days, with an average litter size of three pups who will themselves become reproductively mature at about ten weeks.

Threats

The desert mouse appears to be less common in areas affected by fire or grazing. Other threats are posed by introduced species, such as predation by foxes and feral cats, competition from other herbivores like the

house mouse The house mouse (''Mus musculus'') is a small mammal of the rodent family Muridae, characteristically having a pointed snout, large rounded ears, and a long and almost hairless tail. It is one of the most abundant species of the genus '' Mus''. A ...

(''Mus musculus''), and habitat alteration by exotic grasses in Queensland.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1065679 Pseudomys Mammals of Western Australia Mammals of South Australia Mammals of the Northern Territory Mammals of New South Wales Mammals of Victoria (state) Rodents of Australia Mammals described in 1932 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot