Extension to the known range of the Fawn Hopping-mouseNotomys cervinusin New South Wales

2 Pages·1993·0.1 MB·English

by  Murray Ellis

Extension to the known range of the Fawn Hopping-mouse
Notomys cervinus in New South Wales
Murray Ellis
RZS Mammal Section, P.O. Box 20, Mosman NSW 2088
The Fawn Hopping-mouse Notomys ceruinur The Fawn Hopping-mouse is poorly known,
has been recorded from the Northern but is regarded as an animal of clay pans and
Territory, Queensland, South Australia and gibber plains (Watts and Aslin 1981) where it
New South Wales as a living animal. It has also lives in shallow burrows in small groups. The
been recorded in subfossil material from owl pellets were located in quartzitelsandstone
Western Australia (Watts and Aslin 1981). The ridges surrounded by alluvial deltas. The
bulk of the modern records have come from surrounding plains contain more suitable
the far north east of South Australia (Watts habitat in the form of gibber-covered plains
and Aslin 198 1) and south western Queensland supporting low chenopod shrublands,
(Ingram and Raven 1991). Charles Sturt interspersed with some claypans. This diversity
collected this species in the north west of New of landforms within the hunting range of the
South Wales in what is now Sturt National Park owls explains the presence of at least three
during his expedition of the 1840s. These species of Notmnys, including the Long-tailed
animals formed the basis of Gould's painting Hopping Mouse N. lonpicaudatur, in the
of the species (Sturt 1847). However, Sturt's deposits. Similar situations with a diversity of
and Gould's descriptions of the animals and landforms and Notomys species have been
their captures could indicate that several recorded in South Australia and the Northern
species ("varieties" in Gould 1845-63) were Territory (Watts and Aslin 1981).
involved.
The Mootwingee locality is about 300 km
Subfossil bone material from owl pellets has from the Sturt (1847) records, a similar
been collected from Mootwingee National Park distance from the subfossil remains of N.c e7--
(Ellis et al. 1991). Intact and disintegrating vzllus in the Flinders Ranges (Tunbridge 1991),
pellets have been found in both the Gap and and about twice that distance from the bulk of
Byugnano Ranges within the park. Based on the modern records (Fig 1.). The lack of recent
the age of similar deposits in the Flinders records from New South Wales and the
Ranges of South Australia (Smith 1977), and Flinders Ranges indicates that this species has
the presence of bones of the introduced House undergone a massive range reduction follow-
Mouse M i m usculns, these deposits are esti- ing European settlement of these areas.
mated to date from post-European settlement
Without further subfossil deposits being
of the region.
found and analysed, or new captures being
Among these bones is a number of small made, it is impossible to say how much further
Notomys skulls. Some of these were assigned to east and south than Mootwingee the species
the Fawn Hopping-mouse (N. cerumur) due to once extended into New South Wales.
the groove on the front of the incisors. This Wakefield (1966) did not regard N. ceruinus as
feature, in combination with the shape of the a Victorian species and Krefft (1866) did not
anterior palatal foramina, is described by Watts record it at the junction of the Darling and
and Aslin (1981) as being diagnostic of the Murray Rivers during his intensive study of the
species. The only other species with such a area. In Krefft's estimation the Bilby ~Macrotir
groove is the Big-eared Hopping-mouse lagotis had become recently extinct in that area
(N. macrotis) known only from the coast by the time of his visit in 1857. The presence
of Western Australia. The remaining skulls of Mitchell's Hopping-mouse in abundance,
can not be assigned to a species, with the along with three other small rodent species, in
Spinifex Hopping-mouse N. ale&, the Dusky Krefft's survey suggests that a local extinction
Hopping-mouse N, ficus, and Mitchell's for N. ceruinur is unlikely to have occurred by
Hopping-mouse N. mitchelli being possibilities. 1857. Thus it seems that N. ceruinus did not
Separation of these smaller species by skull range as far south as the Victorian border.
characters cannot be done with certainty 'There are no clues to its former eastern limits
(Watts and Aslin 1981). at present.
Australian Zooiogisi, Voi. 29(1-2) 77
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INGRAMG, . J. AND RAVENR, . J., 1991. An Alhiof @emland's
frog^, Rcprilrs, Bid and Mammnlr. Queensland
I would like to thank Linda Gibson and Tim Museum: Brisbane.
Flannery for granting me access to the Aust-
KREFFT,G .. 1866. On the venebrated animals of rhe lower
ralian Museum collections and space to work; Murray and Darling, their habits, economy and geog-
the members of the RZS Mammal Section who raphical distribution. 'From. Phil. Sm. NSW 1862-65:
1-33.
attended the two field trips to collect the sub-
fossil remains of the Mootwingee fauna; an SMITH,M . J., 1977. The remains of Mammals, including
anonymous referee for finding my mistakes; Nolmy hpicaudalur (Could) (Rodentia: Muridae), in
owl pellets from the Flinders Ranges, SA. Awt Wildl.
and Elizabeth Ashby for trying to turn my Rer. 4: 158-70.
words into English sentences.
STURTC, ., 1847. Nonative ofan Expedition into Cmhd Awt-
raltn. Greenwood Press: New York.
REFERENCES
TuNBnlDcE, D., 1991. Thr Stq of the FlindRs Ranger
ELLISM, ., WILSONP, . AND HAMILTOSN.,, 1991. The Golden Mammnlr. Kangaroo Press: Sydney.
Bandicoot, Isoodon auralrrs Ramsay 1887, in western
New South Wales during European times. Awl Zool. 47: WAKEFIELND. , A., 1966. Mammals recorded for rhe Mallee,
3637. Victoria. Proc. Roy. Sm. Vi. 79: 627-36.
GOULDJ, ., 184543. Could's Aurtralin. MacMillan Facsimile WATTS,C . H. S AND ASLINH, . J., 1981. The Rodents o/Aurt-
Edition in 1977: Sydney. rolin. Angus and Robenson: Sydney.
Fig 1. The published distribution of the Fawn Hopping-mouse N. ceruinw shown as dots (Watrs and
Aslin 1981: lngram and Raven 1991). with the location of the new record shown as a star.
The stippling shows the distribution according to Watts and Aslin (1981).
78 Australian Zoologist, Vol. 29(7-2) August 1993