343.

Mitchell's Hopping Mouse

Notomys mitchellii

French: Notomys de Mitchell / German: Mitchell-Australienhipfmaus / Spanish: Raton saltador de Mitchell

Taxonomy. Dipus mitchellii W. Ogilby, 1838,

c.12 km south-east of Lake Boga, Victoria, Australia.

Notomys mitchellii was in the past treated in genus Hapalotis and then in Conilurus, but placed in Notomys by O. Thomas in 1921 and by subsequent authors. Hapalotis richardsonii (from Swan River, Western Australia) is a synonym of N. mitchellii, as also is Hapalotis gouldii (south-west Western Australia). Proposed subspecies macropus

and alutacea are not now generally recognized. Monotypic.

Distribution. Semiarid mainland S Australia, with discontinuous range in some regions owing to habitat loss and fragmentation.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 100-125 mm, tail 140-155 mm, ear 23-26 mm, hindfoot 31-38 mm; weight 40-60 g. This murid has body form typical of hopping mice, with very long hindfeet, long tail with distal brush of longer hairs, long ears, and large eyes. Mitchell’s Hopping Mouse is the largest of the extant hopping mice. It is distinguished from most other hopping mice also by not having a throat pouch (chest gland), although it has a conspicuous wide tract of shiny white hairs on throat and chest. Upper body color is fawn to dark gray brown, often grizzled; belly fur is grayish white.

Habitat. Found mostly in woodlands (“mallee” eucalypt formations) and heathlands, particularly on sandysoils.

Food and Feeding. Mitchell's Hopping Mouse is omnivorous, taking particularly seeds and other plant material, with some invertebrates.

Breeding. Reproduction is largely seasonal, with most breeding activity reported July-November. Gestation lasts 38-40 days, with litter size 1-5. Females are capable of breeding when about 90 days old.

Activity patterns. Mitchell's Hopping Mouse is terrestrial and nocturnal, sheltering during day in deep burrow systems.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Mitchell's Hopping Mice are social, with up to eight individuals recorded in a single burrow system. Home range and movement patterns are not well known but, as with most other hopping mice, some of the population at any site may be transient.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Substantial habitat loss since European settlement of Australia has resulted in marked decline in distributional extent and population size of Mitchell's Hopping Mouse, but current trends are poorly resolved. At somesites,it is commonly recorded in diet of introduced Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) and feral cats. Although its habitat is prone to fire, and there are substantial floristic and vegetation structural changes in response to period since fire, the species exhibits no marked association with any particular seral stage.

Bibliography. Brazenor (1934), Doherty (2015), Doherty et al. (2015), Gould (1845), Gray (1841), Iredale & Troughton (1934), Jackson & Groves (2015), Kelly et al. (2011), Mahoney & Richardson (1988), Murray etal. (1999), Ogilby, J.D. (1892), Ogilby, W. (1838b), Ride (1970), Thomas (1921h), Van Dyck & Strahan (2008), Watts & Aslin (1981), Woinarski (1989)..