Northern hopping mouse

Species of rodent

Northern hopping mouse
N. aquilo at Wurruwarrkbadenumanja, Groote Eylandt
Conservation status

Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Muridae
Genus: Notomys
Species:
N. aquilo
Binomial name
Notomys aquilo
Thomas, 1921

The northern hopping mouse (Notomys aquilo) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.[2][3] It is also known as woorrentinta, from Lardil, the language of Mornington Island.[4][5]

It is found only in coastal northern Australia, from Arnhem Land to the Cobourg Peninsula in the Northern Territory of Australia. The only known population is in the Anindilyakwa Indigenous Protected Area on Groote Eylandt. There have two former sightings in inland central Arnhem Land and in Cape York in Queensland 120 years ago, both single recordings. Its population has not been yet been determined.[6] It is classified as vulnerable.[7]

The mouse weighs 25 to 50 grams and is brown above and white below. Its long tail measures 150% of its body length and it has long hind feet up to 4 centimeters long.

This species lives in sandy soils on heathlands and grasslands. It is nocturnal. It consumes seeds and sometimes other plant material and invertebrates.The mouse hops, leaving bipedal tracks. The females are known to construct elaborate communal burrow systems.[8]

Threats to this species include habitat alteration, such as changes in the fire regime and the effects of livestock. Feral cats watch the burrows and may consume several individuals in a night.[7]

A national recovery plan for the Northern Hopping-mouse was prepared in 2004.[9] It is highly elusive and 'trap-shy'. Recent surveys have been undertaken using camera traps and radio-tracking.[10]

References

  1. ^ Woinarski, J.; Burbidge, A.A. (2016). "Notomys aquilo". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T14862A22401364. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T14862A22401364.en. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. ^ taxonomy. "Taxonomy browser (Notomys aquilo)". www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  3. ^ Wilson, Don E.; Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. (2005). Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 57557352.
  4. ^ Marie, Elisabeth (2024-02-05). "Why don't people care as much about Australia's native rodents?". Australian Geographic. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  5. ^ "Species Profile and Threats Database: Notomys aquilo — Northern Hopping-mouse, Woorrentinta". Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Australian Government. Retrieved 14 September 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ "Tiny mouse in spotlight as Aboriginal rangers fight to save vulnerable species". ABC News. 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  7. ^ a b "Threatened species of the Northern Territory: Northern hopping-mouse, Notomys aquilo" (PDF). Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security. Northern Territory Government. November 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Diete, Rebecca L.; Meek, Paul D.; Dickman, Christopher R.; Leung, Luke K.-P. (2014). "Burrowing behaviour of the northern hopping-mouse (Notomys aquilo): field observations". Australian Mammalogy. 36 (2): 242. doi:10.1071/AM13039. ISSN 0310-0049.
  9. ^ "National multispecies recovery plan for the Carpentarian Antechinus Pseudantechinus mimulus, Butler's Dunnart Sminthopsis butleri, and Northern Hoppingmouse Notomys aquilo : 2004 – 2008". Darwin: Dept. of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  10. ^ Diete, Rebecca L.; Meek, Paul D.; Dickman, Christopher R.; Leung, Luke K.-P. (2016). "Ecology and conservation of the northern hopping-mouse (Notomys aquilo)". Australian Journal of Zoology. 64 (1): 21. doi:10.1071/ZO15082. ISSN 0004-959X.
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Extant species of subfamily Murinae (Pogonomys–Pseudomys)
Pogonomys
Division
Abeomelomys
  • Highland brush mouse (A. sevia)
Anisomys
  • Squirrel-toothed rat (A. imitator)
Brassomys
  • White-toothed brush mouse (B. albidens)
Chiruromys
  • Greater tree mouse (C. forbesi)
  • Broad-headed tree mouse (C. lamia)
  • Lesser tree mouse (C. vates)
Coccymys
Hyomys
(White-eared rats)
  • Western white-eared giant rat (H. dammermani)
  • Eastern white-eared giant rat (H. goliath)
Macruromys
(New Guinean rats)
  • Lesser small-toothed rat (M. elegans)
  • Eastern small-toothed rat (M. major)
Mallomys
(Giant tree rats)
  • De Vis's woolly rat (M. aroaensis)
  • Alpine woolly rat (M. gunung)
  • Subalpine woolly rat (M. istapantap)
  • Rothschild's woolly rat (M. rothschildi)
  • Bosavi woolly rat (M. sp. nov.)
  • Arfak woolly rat (M. sp. nov.)
  • Foja woolly rat (M. sp. nov.)
Mammelomys
  • Large-scaled mosaic-tailed rat (M. lanosus)
  • Large mosaic-tailed rat (M. rattoides)
Pogonomelomys
(Rummler's
mosaic tailed rats)
  • Grey pogonomelomys (P. brassi)
  • Lowland brush mouse (P. bruijni)
  • Shaw Mayer's brush mouse (P. mayeri)
Pogonomys
(Prehensile-tailed rats)
  • Champion's tree mouse (P. championi)
  • D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago pogonomys (P. fergussoniensis)
  • Large tree mouse (P. loriae)
  • Chestnut tree mouse (P. macrourus)
  • Prehensile-tailed rat (P. mollipilosus)
  • Gray-bellied tree mouse (P. sylvestris)
Xenuromys
  • Mimic tree rat (X. barbatus)
Pseudomys
Division
Conilurus
  • Brush-tailed rabbit rat (C. penicillatus)
Leggadina
  • Forrest's mouse (L. forresti)
  • Lakeland Downs mouse (L. lakedownensis)
Leporillus
(Australian
stick-nest rats)
  • Greater stick-nest rat (L. conditor)
Mastacomys
  • Broad-toothed mouse (M. fuscus)
Mesembriomys
(Tree rats)
  • Black-footed tree-rat (M. gouldii)
  • Golden-backed tree-rat (M. macrurus)
Notomys
(Australian
hopping mice)
  • Spinifex hopping mouse (N. alexis)
  • Northern hopping mouse (N. aquilo)
  • Fawn hopping mouse (N. cervinus)
  • Dusky hopping mouse (N. fuscus)
  • Mitchell's hopping mouse (N. mitchellii)
Pseudomys
(Australian native mice)
  • Ash-grey mouse (P. albocinereus)
  • Silky mouse (P. apodemoides)
  • Plains rat (P. australis)
  • Bolam's mouse (P. bolami)
  • Kakadu pebble-mound mouse (P. calabyi)
  • Western pebble-mound mouse (P. chapmani)
  • Little native mouse (P. delicatulus)
  • Desert mouse (P. desertor)
  • Smoky mouse (P. fumeus)
  • Gould's mouse (P. gouldii)
  • Eastern chestnut mouse (P. gracilicaudatus)
  • Sandy inland mouse (P. hermannsburgensis)
  • Long-tailed mouse (P. higginsi)
  • Central pebble-mound mouse (P. johnsoni)
  • Western chestnut mouse (P. nanus)
  • New Holland mouse (P. novaehollandiae)
  • Western mouse (P. occidentalis)
  • Hastings River mouse (P. oralis)
  • Country mouse (P. patrius)
  • Pilliga mouse (P. pilligaensis)
  • Heath mouse (P. shortridgei)
Zyzomys
(Thick-tailed rats)
  • Common rock rat (Z. argurus)
  • Arnhem Land rock rat (Z. maini)
  • Carpentarian rock rat (Z. palatalis)
  • Central rock rat (Z. pedunculatus)
  • Kimberley rock rat (Z. woodwardi)
See also
Aethomys–Chrotomys
Colomys–Golunda
Hadromys–Maxomys
Melasmothrix–Mus
Oenomys–Pithecheir
Rattus
Stenocephalomys–Xeromys
Otomys
Others
Taxon identifiers
Notomys aquilo


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