359.

New Holland Mouse

Pseudomys novaehollandiae

French: Pseudomys de Nouvelle-Hollande / German: Neuholland-Australienmaus / Spanish: Raton de castano de Nueva Holanda

Other common names: New Holland Pseudomys

Taxonomy. Mus Novae-Hollandiae Waterhouse, 1843,

Yarrundi, upper Hunter River, New South Wales, Australia.

Pseudomys mnovaehollandiae was placed in subgenus Gyomys by G. H. H. Tate in 1951. F. Ford’s 2006 molecular study suggested that itis part of the same clade as P. bolam, P. delicatulus, and P. hermannsburgensis . P. Smissen and K. C. Rowe, in H. J. McLennan and colleagues’ 2017 study, show it to be the sister taxon of P. hermannsburgensis .

Monotypic.

Distribution. SE Australia: coastal habitats up to 100 km inland in SE Queensland, E New South Wales, SE Victoria, and Tasmania, including Flinders I and Three Hummock I.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 65-95 mm, tail 81-110 mm, ear 15-18 mm, hindfoot 20-22 mm; weight 12-25 g. The New Holland Mouse is a small species that exhibits a gray-brown dorsal pelage and has a gray-whitepelage ventrally. Tail is longer (110-115%) than head-body length.

Habitat. Sandy dune habitats with mature Banksia — Allocasuarina ( Proteaceae — Casuarinaceae) woodland, with sedges and low shrubs as an understory. Shrub layer of regenerating coast tea-tree ( Leptospermum laevigatum, Myrtaceae).

Food and Feeding. The New Holland Mouse is omnivorous. Although seeds are the most prominent component of its diet, it also consumes leaves, fungi, and small invertebrates. Studies have observed that, overall, it consumes 27% of the dicotyledons’ leaf, 29% fungi, 17% invertebrates, and 14% seeds, but there are dietary differences depending on local vegetation.

Breeding. New Holland Mice have a breeding period based on amount of food available, which depends on rainfall. In Victoria reproduction occurs in December-May and in New South Wales in August—-March. Gestation lasts 31-5 days on average, and litter size is 1-6 (mean four). During theirfirst year of reproduction females normally produce only onelitter, but in their second year they can produce up to three or four. Males reach sexual maturity at ¢.20 weeks of age, and females mature at c.13 weeks. In New South Wales, some females have six litters per season, while in Victoria there may be only one or two.

Activity patterns. New Holland Mice are terrestrial and nocturnal. They dig deep burrows (up to 60 cm deep) with a vertical entrance leading to a wide chamber.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Population density is a function of plant-species diversity and the presence of deep,soft, sandy soils. Up to 17 ind/ha were reported in heathy woodlands, but they are less abundant in other environments (e.g. from 0-2 ind/ha to 3-1 ind/ha).

Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List because of various threats, including reduced average rainfall.

Bibliography. Breed & Ford (2007), Ford (2006), Jackson & Groves (2015), Kemper (1976, 1981), McLennan et al. (2017), Menkhorst (1995), Tate (1951), Watts & Aslin (1981).