Fawn Hopping Mouse
Encyclopedia
The Fawn Hopping Mouse is a rodent
native to the central Australia
n desert. Like all hopping mice it has strong front teeth, a long tail, dark eyes, big ears, well-developed haunches and very long, narrow hind feet. It weighs between 30 gram. (Compare with the common House Mouse, at 10 gram.)
The coloration of the Fawn Hopping Mouse varies from pale pinkish-fawn to grey on the upper parts, and white underneath. The tail is 120 millimetre long, bicoloured (white underneath, darker below), and ends in a dark brush. The ears and round, dark eyes are particularly large, and the whiskers even more so: 65 mm (2.6 in) in a creature that is only 95 millimetre long.
The favoured habitat is the sparsely vegetated arid gibber plains and claypans of the Lake Eyre Basin
, including parts of northern South Australia
, far south-western Queensland
and possibly the Northern Territory
, though this last is uncertain. Records from the late 19th century show that its former range was more extensive.
Breeding is thought to be opportunistic. In captivity, gestation is about 40 days and between one and five fully furred young are born.
Fawn Hopping Mice live in small family groups of two to four individuals. During the day, they shelter in burrows which are simpler and shallower than those of the sand-dwelling Dusky Hopping Mouse
but nevertheless up to a metre deep with between one and three entrances. At night, they forage outwards for hundreds of metres, searching for seeds, and also taking green shoots and insects if the opportunity presents itself. As with other hopping mice, they do not need to drink, though they can metabolise highly saline water if it is available.
The Fawn Hopping Mouse is classified as vulnerable. The causes of its decline are unknown, but assumed to be habitat degradation, competition for food with introduced species
, and predation by introduced cats and foxes
.
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
native to the central Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n desert. Like all hopping mice it has strong front teeth, a long tail, dark eyes, big ears, well-developed haunches and very long, narrow hind feet. It weighs between 30 gram. (Compare with the common House Mouse, at 10 gram.)
The coloration of the Fawn Hopping Mouse varies from pale pinkish-fawn to grey on the upper parts, and white underneath. The tail is 120 millimetre long, bicoloured (white underneath, darker below), and ends in a dark brush. The ears and round, dark eyes are particularly large, and the whiskers even more so: 65 mm (2.6 in) in a creature that is only 95 millimetre long.
The favoured habitat is the sparsely vegetated arid gibber plains and claypans of the Lake Eyre Basin
Lake Eyre Basin
The Lake Eyre basin is a drainage basin that covers just under one-sixth of all Australia. The Lake Eyre Basin is the largest endorheic basin in Australia and amongst the largest in the world, covering about 1,200,000 square kilometres, including much of inland Queensland, large portions of South...
, including parts of northern South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, far south-western Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and possibly the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, though this last is uncertain. Records from the late 19th century show that its former range was more extensive.
Breeding is thought to be opportunistic. In captivity, gestation is about 40 days and between one and five fully furred young are born.
Fawn Hopping Mice live in small family groups of two to four individuals. During the day, they shelter in burrows which are simpler and shallower than those of the sand-dwelling Dusky Hopping Mouse
Dusky Hopping Mouse
The Dusky Hopping Mouse is an Australian native rodent specialised for the deep desert. Like all hopping mice it has strong front teeth, a long tail, dark eyes, big ears, well-developed haunches and very long, narrow hind feet. It weighs between . The Dusky Hopping Mouse has four pads on its soles...
but nevertheless up to a metre deep with between one and three entrances. At night, they forage outwards for hundreds of metres, searching for seeds, and also taking green shoots and insects if the opportunity presents itself. As with other hopping mice, they do not need to drink, though they can metabolise highly saline water if it is available.
The Fawn Hopping Mouse is classified as vulnerable. The causes of its decline are unknown, but assumed to be habitat degradation, competition for food with introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
, and predation by introduced cats and foxes
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
.