''Pseudomys'' is a genus of

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

that contains a wide variety of

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

native to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

. They are among the few

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

placental Placental mammals (infraclass Placentalia ) are one of the three extant subdivisions of the class Mammalia, the other two being Monotremata and Marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsup ...

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s that colonised Australia without

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

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 to 160 mm. The tail is 60–180 mm and the weight is recorded from 12 to 90 g. They inhabit a wide variety of

habitats In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

from

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

s to

plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

s and

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

s. The animals are

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

and spend the day in

burrow An Eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of sh ...

s. Food also varies with some species eating

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

s and

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s while others feed primarily on

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

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 Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. Several others are probably

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

Etymology

The name ''Pseudomys'' means "false mouse" presumably in reference to both its similarity and uniqueness from "true mice" in the genus '' Mus''.

Species

Genus ''Pseudomys'' - Australian native mice * Ash-grey mouse, ''Pseudomys albocinereus'' * Silky mouse, ''Pseudomys apodemoides'' *

Plains rat The plains rat ''(Pseudomys australis)'', also known as the palyoora, plains mouse and eastern mouse, is a conilurine rodent native to arid and semi-arid Australia. Referred to as the ''pallyoora'' or ''yarlie'' by Indigenous groups, the plains ...

, ''Pseudomys australis'' *

Bolam's mouse Bolam's mouse (''Pseudomys bolami'') is a species of nocturnal, burrowing rodent in the family Muridae that inhabits the semi arid and southern arid regions of Australia.Moseby, K. E., & Read, J. L. (1998). Population dynamics and movement patt ...

, ''Pseudomys bolami'' * Kakadu pebble-mound mouse, ''Pseudomys calabyi'' *

Western pebble-mound mouse Western pebble-mound mouse or Ngadji, species ''Pseudomys chapmani'', is a burrowing and mound building rodent in the family Muridae. They occur in the Pilbara, a remote region in the northwest of Australia. Taxonomy The species was describ ...

, ''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 The desert mouse (''Pseudomys desertor''), also known as the brown desert mouse, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is endemic to Australia. The first desert mouse specimen was collected by Australian zoologist Gerard Krefft on t ...

, ''Pseudomys desertor'' *

Smoky mouse The smoky mouse (''Pseudomys fumeus'') 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 for "smoky". As its name suggests, it is a grey-furred mouse, dark ...

, ''Pseudomys fumeus'' *

Blue-gray mouse The blue-gray mouse (''Pseudomys glaucus'') is an Australian rodent species that is only known by a few specimens found in Eastern Australia, and since presumed to have become extinct. Taxonomy The species was described by Oldfield Thomas in ...

, ''Pseudomys glaucus'' † * Gould's mouse, ''Pseudomys gouldii'' **The

Shark Bay mouse Gould's mouse (''Pseudomys gouldii''), also known as the Shark Bay mouse and djoongari in the Pintupi and Luritja languages, is a species of rodent in the murid family. Once ranging throughout Australia from Western Australia to New South Wale ...

was previously described as a separate species ''Pseudomys fieldi'', but is now considered conspecific with ''P. gouldii'' * 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'' **The Kimberley mouse was previously described as a separate species ''Pseudomys laborifex'', but is now considered conspecific with ''Pseudomys johnsoni'' * 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'' * Country mouse, ''Pseudomys patrius'' *

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'' *

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'' *'' Pseudomys vandycki'' † (Late Pliocene of Australia)

References

*Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. pp. 894–1531 ''in'' Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. *Nowak, R. M. 1999. ''Walker's Mammals of the World, Vol. 2''. Johns Hopkins University Press, London. {{Taxonbar, from=Q662475 Rodent genera Taxa named by John Edward Gray