New Holland Mouse
Pseudomys novaehollandiae
Habitat Open heathland, vegetated sand dunes, forest and woodland understoreys
IUCN Status Vulnerable
At first glance, the New Holland Mouse looks just like a common European house mouse. However, on closer inspection, they don’t have the musky ammonia smell of pest mice, their eyes and ears are larger, and their tails are dark on top and longer than their body.
Once spread throughout the continent, New Holland Mice are now exclusively found in Australia’s south-east.
This mouse lives communally in burrows underground and comes out at night to explore at ground level, looking for berries, seeds, leaves, and flowers to eat. They also have been known to feed on fungi and invertebrates.
Research on this critter is currently underway at ANU and Mulligans Flat. One technique ecologists use to see if New Holland Mice are in a location involves placing bait in small tubes with either a floor of sand or ink pads and paper, and then examining the footprints left behind.
Photograph by Doug Beckers