New Holland Mouse

Pale grey-brown dorsal fur, light grey underparts and pale feet; tail is longer than the head-body length.

Identification

A small native rodent with pale grey-brown dorsal fur, light grey underparts and pale feet. The tail is longer than the head-body length and is dusky brown on top, whitish below and darker at the tip. Broadly similar in appearance to the introduced House Mouse, but with larger rounded ears, larger eyes and lacking a notch on the inside of the upper incisors.

Habitat

Open heathlands, woodlands and dry sclerophyll forests with a heath understorey, grasslands and vegetated sand dunes.

Distribution

Patchily distributed in coastal areas of south eastern Australia from southern Queensland in the north, to Flinders Island and Tasmania in the south, extending inland to around 100 km in NE NSW.

Feeding and diet

It nests communally in underground burrows during the day and feeds on the surface at night on seeds, leaves, flowers, fungi and invertebrates.

Other behaviours and adaptations

Population densities are often highest in heath vegetation regenerating 2-3 years after fire or in areas with large floral diversity.

Breeding behaviours

Breeding occurs from late winter to early spring or autumn in the north and from late spring to early summer in the south. Gestation is around 32-39 days and litter size varies from 1-6, with females producing from 1-4 litters per year. Females live for up to 2 years in the wild.

Conservation status

The species is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, inappropriate fire regimes, introduced predators and competitors, and climate change.