Australian bouncy mice
| Australian bouncy mice | ||||||||||||
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Fawn-brown Australian jumping mouse |
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| Notomys | ||||||||||||
| Lesson , 1842 |
The Australian bouncy mice ( Notomys ) are a genus of rodents from the group of old world mice (Murinae) native to the interior of Australia . The genus includes five living and at least as many extinct species.
features
The Australian bouncy mice show similarities with the jerboa and pocket mice , to which they are only very distantly related. They reach a head body length of 9 to 18 centimeters, in addition there is a 13 to 23 centimeter long tail. Their weight varies between 20 and 50 grams. The hind feet are greatly enlarged and are used for hopping locomotion. Their fur is colored sand-colored to gray-brown on the upper side, the underside is white or light gray. The long tail has a brush-like tip. The ears are very large, the incisor teeth very strong. In all species the females have four teats.
Way of life
The habitat of the bouncy mice are sand dunes, grasslands and meadows. They are nocturnal and dig their own burrows to rest. Their diet consists mainly of berries, leaves, seeds and other plant material. At least two species live in groups with pronounced social behavior; the females, for example, also nurse the other newborns. After a gestation period of around 32 to 43 days, the female gives birth to two to four, occasionally up to nine young animals.
Systematics
Ten species are currently known:
- The Australian bouncy mouse ( Notomys alexis ) lives in Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia and western Queensland, making it the largest distribution area of all Australian bouncy mice. It is called tarrkawarra by the Aborigines .
- The short-tailed jumping mouse ( Notomys amplus ) is extinct. Subfossil remains of this species have been found in the southern Northern Territory and northern South Australia, presumably it was once common in parts of western and central Australia.
- The northern bouncy mouse ( Notomys aquilo ) is only known from the coastal region in northern Arnhem Land and from the island of Groote Eylandt, the population in Queensland has expired. The IUCN lists them as "critically endangered".
- The fawn Australian jumping mouse ( Notomys cervinus ) is common in northeastern South Australia and southwestern Queensland. According to the IUCN, the species is "endangered".
- The dark bouncy mouse ( Notomys fuscus ) lives in a small area in the interior of Australia and is also "endangered".
- The long-tailed jumping mouse ( Notomys longicaudatus ) has become extinct, and no specimens have been sighted since 1901 or 1902. The species used to inhabit large parts of the arid interior of Australia.
- The large-eared mouse ( Notomys macrotis ) is only known of two specimens and is extinct. The only location was at the Moore River in Western Australia; probably the species was closely related to the fawn Australian jumping mouse.
- Mitchell's jumping mouse ( Notomys mitchellii ) is the largest living species of Australian jumping mice. She lives in southern Western Australia, southern South Australia and western Victoria. The species is “not endangered”.
- The Darling Downs bouncy mouse ( Notomys mordax ) is known only from a skull find that was made in the Darling Downs in southeast Queensland in the 1840s . This species is also considered to be extinct.
- The broad-cheeked jumping mouse ( Notomys robustus ) was not scientifically described until 2008. It is only known from incomplete remains from the Flinders Range in South Australia and from the Davenport Range National Park and is believed to be extinct there between 1850 and 1900.
According to Musser & Carleton (2005), the currently known species do not reflect the actual diversity of this genus; they consider systematic investigations of the subfossil remains and DNA studies to be necessary. Subfossil material of another extinct species is known from 1850, which has not yet been described.
The Australian jumping mice are systematically part of the Pseudomys group , a predominantly Australian radiation of Old World mice.
literature
- Peter Menkhorst: A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia. Illustrated by Frank Knight. Oxford Univ. Press, South Melbourne et al. 2001, ISBN 0-19-550870-X .
- Guy G. Musser , Michael D. Carleton : Muroidea. In: Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. Volume 2. 3rd edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 , pp. 894-1531.
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 2 volumes. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
- Ronald Strahan (Ed.): The Mammals of Australia. The National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife. Revised edition. New Holland, Sydney 1998, ISBN 1-87633-401-0 .
- Christopher HS Watts, Heather J. Aslin: The Rodents of Australia. Angus & Robertson, London 1981, ISBN 0-207-14235-1 .
