Mitchell's Hopping Mouse
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| iMitchell's hopping mouse | ||||||||||||||
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| Notomys mitchelli (Ogilby, 1838) |
Mitchell's hopping mouse, Notomys mitchelli, is the largest member of the genus Notomys, weighing between 40 and 60 grams. N. mitchelli is a bipedal rodent with large back legs, similar to a jerboa or kangaroo rat. The species occurs throughout much of semi-arid Southern Australia, and appears to be particularly common on the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. Typical habitat for N. mitchelli appears to be mallee shrublands on sandy dune systems. The species is current considered to be unthreatened, but its range has been reduced through habitat disturbance and destruction associated with European settlement in Australia.
Individuals are a sandy grey colour, with white chest hairs and a paler underbelly. The tail of the species is long and has the characteristic hopping mouse brush at the tip. This tail morphology is thought to aid balance when travelling at speed. Being nocturnal, Notomys mitchelli shelters during the day in ‘typical’ hopping mouse burrows; a small number of interconnected, vertical shafts, burrowing deep into the dune. Up to eight animals, different ages and sex, have been found in a single burrow.
N. mitchelli is known to have a lifespan of up to five years in the laboratory and this is thought to be a strategy evolved to combat the breeding-constraints of lengthy periods of drought. It has also been found that this species is less able to cope with water deprivation than other species of the genus. Notomys mitchelli produces concentrated urine to conserve water, but in a different way to more arid-dwelling rodents. The diet of N. mitchelli is also thought to consist of more roots and green matter than that of other species of the genus: animals captured in drought conditions had stomach contents consisting of some 85% roots, 11% green leaf and 4% seed.
[edit] Further reading
- Watts CHS, Aslin HJ. 1981. The Rodents of Australia. London: Angus & Robertson
- Baverstock PR. 1979. A Three Year Study of the Mammals and Lizards of Billiatt Conservation Park in the Murrat Mallee, South Australia. South Australian Naturalist 53:52-8
- Strahan R, ed. 1998. The Mammals of Australia. The National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife. Sydney, NSW: Reed New Holland
