Species Pseudomys delicatulus (Gould, 1842)
Delicate Mouse
- Mus delicatulus Gould, J. 1842. On some new species of Australian mammals. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1842: 10-14 [publication date established from Sclater, P.L. 1893. List of the dates of receipt from the Printers of the sheets of the Society's 'Proceedings' from 1831 to 1859 inclusive. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1893: 435–440 [438]] [13].
Type data:
Lectotype BMNH 42.5.26.17 skin & skull, Port Essington, NT. - Mus albirostris Gray, J.E. 1843. List of the Specimens of Mammalia in the Collection of the British Museum. London : British Museum xxviii 216 pp. [publication date established from Duncan, F.M. 1937. On the dates of publication of the Society's 'Proceedings', 1859–1926. With an appendix containing the dates of publication of 'Proceedings', 1830–1858, compiled by the late F.H. Waterhouse, and of the 'Transactions', 1853–1869, by the late Henry Peavot, originally published in P.Z.S. 1893, 1913. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 107: 71–84] [112].
Type data:
Status unknown, whereabouts unknown. - Gyomys pumilus Troughton, E. le G. 1936. Descriptions of new rats and mice from Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 11: 14-22 [16].
Type data:
Holotype AM M6032 ♀ skin & skull, Byfield, N of Yeppoon, QLD. - Pseudomys pilligaensis Fox, B.J. & Briscoe, D.A. 1980. Pseudomys pilligaensis, a new species of murid rodent from the Pilliga Scrub, Northern New South Wales. Australian Mammalogy 3: 109-126 [112].
Type data:
Holotype AM M11263 ♂ skin & skull, Cumberdeen Road, 3 km W of the Pilliga-Baradine Road, Merriwindi State Forest, NSW [31°52'S 148°59'E].
Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy
- Ride, W.D.L. 1970. A Guide to the Native Mammals of Australia. Melbourne : Oxford University Press xiv 249 pp. 62 pls. [247]
- Watts, C.H.S. & Aslin, H.J. 1981. The Rodents of Australia. Sydney : Angus & Robertson xii 321 pp. 16 pls. [187]
- Jackson, S. & Groves, C. 2015. Taxonomy of Australian Mammals. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 520 pp. [204] (discussion on synonyms)
Generic Combinations
- Pseudomys delicatulus (Gould, 1842). —
Longman, H.A. 1916. Notes on classification of Common rodents with list of Australian species. Commonwealth of Australia Quarantine Service. Service Publication Number 8. Melbourne : Govt. Printer 28 pp. 8 pls. [22]
Baverstock, P.R., Watts, C.H.S., Adams, M. & Cole, S.R. 1981. Genetical relationships among Australian rodents (Muridae). Australian Journal of Zoology 29: 289-303 [299] - Pseudomys delicatulus pumilus (Troughton, 1936). —
van Dyck, S. & Strahan, R. 2008. The Mammals of Australia. Third Edition. Sydney : Reed New Holland 887 pp. [624] - Pseudomys (Gyomys) pumilus (Troughton, 1936). —
Tate, G.H.H. 1951. Results of the Archbold Expeditions. No. 65 The rodents of Australia and New Guinea. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 97: 183-430 [244]
Introduction
Mahoney (1988: 173) listed synonyms, rather than subspecies. Jackson & Groves (2015) provide a discussion on taxonomic history and lack of subspecies recognition. Subsequently Roycroft et al. (2024) reviewed the species recognising three divergent lineages, a northern lineage for which they retained P. delicatulus, an eastern lineage for which they resurrected Pseudomys (Leggadina) delicatulus mimulus Thomas, 1926 (applied at species level), and a western lineage they described as a new species P. pilbarensis. They also revised distributions for these species and others within the Delicate Mouse group (P. hermmansburgensis, P. bolami and P. novaehollandiae)
Distribution
States
Northern Territory, Western Australia
Extra Distribution Information
Kimberley region of WA through northern NT, see Roycroft et al. (2024)
Australian Endemic.
IBRA
NT, WA: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Central Arnhem (CA), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Northern Kimberley (NK), Pine Creek (PCK), Sturt Plateau (STU), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB)
Ecological Descriptors
Burrower, coastal, granivore, open forest, subtropical, terrestrial, tussock grassland, woodland.
General References
Baverstock, P.R., Watts, C.H.S., Adams, M. & Cole, S.R. 1981. Genetical relationships among Australian rodents (Muridae). Australian Journal of Zoology 29: 289-303
Baverstock, P.R., Watts, C.H.S. & Hogarth, J.T. 1977. Chromosome evolution in Australian rodents I. The Pseudomyinae, the Hydromyinae and the Uromys/Melomys Group. Chromosoma (Berlin) 61: 95-125
Braithwaite, R.W. 1989. Shelter selection by a small mammal community in the wet-dry tropics of Australia. Australian Mammalogy 12: 55-59
Braithwaite, R.W. & Brady, P. 1993. The delicate mouse, Pseudomys delicatulus: a continuous breeder waiting for the good times. Australian Mammalogy 16: 93-96
Braithwaite, R.W. & Covacevich, J. 1995. Delicate Mouse Pseudomys delicatulus. pp. 592-593 in Strahan, R. (ed.). The Mammals of Australia: The National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife. Sydney : Reed New Holland 756 pp.
Breed, W.G. 1980. Further observations on spermatozoal morphology and male reproductive tract anatomy of Pseudomys and Notomys species (Mammalia: Rodentia). Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 104: 51-55
Breed, W.G. 1997. Interspecific variation of testis size and epididymal sperm numbers in Australasian rodents with special reference to the genus Notomys. Australian Journal of Zoology 45: 651-669
Briscoe, D.A., Fox, B.J. & Ingleby, S. 1981. Genetic differentiation between Pseudomys pilligaensis and related Pseudomys (Rodentia: Muridae). Australian Mammalogy 4: 89-92
Cooper, N.K. 1993. Identification of Pseudomys chapmani, P. hermannsburgensis, P. delicatulus and Mus musculus using footpad patterns. Western Australian Naturalist 19: 69-73
Fox, B.J. 1995. Pilliga Mouse Pseudomys pilligaensis. pp. 616-617 in Strahan, R. (ed.). The Mammals of Australia: The National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife. Sydney : Reed New Holland 756 pp.
Mahoney, J.A. in Walton, D.W. (ed.) 1988. Zoological Catalogue of Australia Volume 5. Mammalia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service x 274 pp. [Date published 13/Apr/1988] [173]
Morrissey, B.L. & Breed, W.G. 1982. Variation in external morphology of the glans penis of Australian native rodents. Australian Journal of Zoology 30: 495-502
Roycroft, E., Ford, F., Ramm, T., Schembri, R., Breed, W.G., Burns, P.A., Rowe, K.C & Moritz, C. 2024. Speciation across biomes: Rapid diversification with reproductive isolation in the Australian delicate mice. Molecular Ecology 33(e17301): 1-17
Watts, C.H.S. 1982. Australian hydromyine rodents: maintenance of captive colonies. pp. 180-184 in Evans, D.D. (ed.). The Management of Australian Mammals in Captivity. Proceedings of the Scientific Meeting of the Australian Mammal Society, Healesville, Victoria, February 1979. Melbourne : Zoological Board of Victoria 194 pp.
Common Name References
ABRS 2001. Census of Australian Vertebrates. Australian Biological Resources Study. (Delicate Mouse)
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23-Aug-2024 | MURIDAE | 23-Jul-2024 | MODIFIED | |
| 04-Feb-2023 | MURIDAE | 18-Nov-2022 | MODIFIED | |
| 04-Feb-2023 | 10-Dec-2010 | MOVED | ||
| 10-Dec-2010 | 08-Dec-2010 | MODIFIED | ||
| 12-Feb-2010 | (import) |