Dusky Hopping-mouse
Notomys fuscus
Australia's Threatened Species Category
Vulnerable
Listed since: 26/03/2008
IUCN's Threatened Species Category
Vulnerable
Listed since: 31/12/2012
Population trend: Unknown
Other names: Wilkiniti
Priority Species? No
The Australian government's Threatened Species Action Plan 2022-2032 selected over 100 priority species derive from consultation with threatened species experts and the wider community. While all species are important, focusing on a limited number of species can help target effort and resources so that outcomes can be achieved, measured and shared.
Description
The Dusky Hopping-mouse is an attractive rodent with long, rounded, furless�ears and�prominent dark eyes. The Dusky Hopping-mouse inhabits arid areas of Australia with sand dunes or sand plains with hummocks and water nearby and eats seed, green plants and some insects and small lizards. They live in groups of up to five in one or two burrows with a series of entrances ('pop holes') leading to chambers and tunnels up to one metre below the surface. The species is nocturnal, sheltering in deep burrows during the day.
Threats
The main threats facing the Dusky Hopping-mouse is overgrazing by stock, rabbits and the house mouse and predation by feral cats and foxes.