Fawn-brown Australian jumping mouse
| Fawn-brown Australian jumping mouse | ||||||||||||
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Fawn Australian bouncy mouse ( Notomys cervinus ) |
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| Notomys cervinus | ||||||||||||
| ( Gould , 1853) |
The fawn Australian bouncy mouse ( Notomys cervinus ), also known as the fawn bouncy mouse , is a rodent from the genus of the Australian bouncy mice that is native to the central Australian desert.
features
Like all Australian bouncy mice, the fawn Australian bouncy mouse has strong front teeth, a long tail, dark eyes, large ears, well developed hips and very long, narrow hind feet. The head-torso length is 95 to 120 mm. The weight is between 30 and 50 g. The color varies from light pink-fawn to gray on the top and white on the underside. The 120 to 160 mm long tail is two-colored (white on the underside and darker on the top) and ends in a dark brush. The ears are round, the dark eyes are particularly large and the whiskers are 65 mm long. The females have four belly teats.
Occurrence and habitat
The preferred habitat of the fawn Australian jumping mouse are the gravel plains and clay pans in the basin of Lake Eyre . The distribution area includes parts of northern South Australia and the extreme southwest of Queensland . Records from the late 19th century show that the earlier range was larger.
Way of life
The fawn Australian jumping mouse lives in small family groups of two to four individuals. During the day they seek shelter in structures that are shallower than those of the sand-dwelling species Notomys fuscus , but are still up to a meter deep and have between one and three exits. During the night, they cover hundreds of meters in search of food. They feed on seeds, germs and insects. Like other Australian bouncy mice, the species does without water, but is able to metabolize high-salt water when it is available. After a gestation period of 38 days, the females give birth to one to five fully developed young.
status
The IUCN lists the species in the category "endangered" ( vulnerable ). The population is estimated to be less than 10,000 adult animals. The causes of the endangerment are unknown, but climate change, destabilization and erosion caused by the trampling of the soil by ungulates and stalking by predators are believed to be likely.
literature
- Peter Menkhorst: A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia. Illustrated by Frank Knight. Oxford University Press, South Melbourne et al. 2001, ISBN 0-19-550870-X .
Individual evidence
- ^ Murray Wrobel: Elsevier's dictionary of mammals. In Latin, English, German, French and Italian. Elsevier, Amsterdam et al. 2006, ISBN 0-444-51877-0 .