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Western Pebble Mouse

Pseudomys chapmani

French: Pseudomys de Chapman / German: Westliche Australienmaus / Spanish: Ratén de guijarros occidental

Other common names: Pilbara Pebble Mouse, Western Pebble-mound Mouse

Taxonomy. Pseudomys chapmani: Kitchener, 1980,

“31 km. 136° Mt. Meharry (West Angelas Mine Site) (23°11°057S, 118°47°31”E),” Western Australia, Australia.

One of the most recently described species of the genus, P. chapmanis close to P. johnsoni, P. calabyi, and P. patrius in the 2006 molecular phylogeny of F. Ford, which corresponds to group 5 of B. Breed and Ford’s 2007 arrangement. P. chapmani is sympatric with P. hermannsburgensis, which does not construct pebble mounds. Monotypic.

Distribution. W & C parts of the Pilbara, Western Australia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 52-67 mm,tail 73-79 mm; weight 10-15 g. This small rodent has a buff-brown dorsal pelage contrasting with a white ventral one. It is very similar to the Sandy Inland Mouse (FP. hermannsburgensis), but has distinct plantar pads. Tail is slightly longer than head-body length.

Habitat. Stony uplands with spinifex and sparse understory of eucalyptus, shrubs of Acacia (Fabaceae), Senna (Fabaceae), and Ptilotus (Amaranthaceae) .

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. Females can produce several litters of fouryoung annually.

Activity patterns. Western Pebble Mice are terrestrial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Western Pebble Mouse creates its own microhabitat by scattering a mound of pebbles around its burrows. Air temperature around the pebbles warms up faster in the morning than the pebbles themselves, which may result in formation of small droplets of dew by condensation. In each of these mounds, social groups of up to 25 animals were found to occur. Radiotracking analyses indicated an estimated average home range of 14-4 ha for males and 4-6 ha for females. These ranges overlap considerably between individuals from the same and different mounds.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. No major threats are listed, and the species is relatively common and found in five protected areas.

Bibliography. Anstee et al. (1997), Breed & Ford (2007), Ford (2006), Dunlop & Pound (1981), Kitchener (1980), Start (2008), Start et al. (1999).