Pilliga Pseudomys
Pseudomys pilligaensis Fox & Briscoe, 1980
First described in: Aust. Mamm. vol.3 p.112
Pseudomys pilligaensis, commonly known as the Pilliga mouse or poolkoo, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. Its distribution comprises the Pilliga forest region of New South Wales, Australia, specimens have also been trapped in the Warrumbungle National Park and Weetalibah Nature Reserve. Its conservation status is currently listed as "Data Deficient" due to unresolved questions on its taxonomic status.
Descriptions from checklists and floras indexed by GBIF
discussion
Discussion: Chromosomal morphology described by Fox and Briscoe (1980). Morphological and electrophoretic data supported a close phylogenetic relationship of P. pilligaensis to P. delicatulus and P. novaehollandiae (Briscoe et al., 1981), which was reinforced by spermatozoal morphology (Breed, 1983). Reviewed by Fox (1995 b). Recent DNA sequencing studies by F. Ford reveal a complex mosaic of delicatulus and novaehollandiae genotypes and phenotypes within the geographic area occupied by ‘ pillagaensis, ’ raising the distinct possibility that the latter ‘ taxon’ actually identifies a zone of hybrid interaction between delicatulus and novaehollandiae (F. Ford, in litt., 2004).
Order Rodentia - Family Muridae
distribution
Distribution: Australia, N New South Wales, collected from a few localities within the Pilliga Scrub (Fox and Briscoe, 1980: 119).
Order Rodentia - Family Muridae
materials_examined
Type Locality: Australia, New South Wales, Merriwindi State Forest, 3 km west of Pilliga-Baradine Road., Cumberdeen Road (Fox and Briscoe, 1980, provided additional information).
Order Rodentia - Family Muridae
description
Common name. Pilliga Mouse. Current name. Pseudomys pilligaensis Fox & Briscoe, 1980; following Musser & Carleton (2005). Taxonomic status needs clarification: Pilliga populations are thought to be the product of past hybridization between P. delicatulus (Gould, 1842) and P. novaehollandiae (Waterhouse, 1843) and P. pilligaensis Fox & Briscoe is sometimes treated as a junior synonym of P. delicatulus pumilus (e. g., Ford, 2008). Jackson & Groves (2015) treated it as a synonym of P. delicatulus but flagged the need for further taxonomic work.
Type Specimens of Non-fossil Mammals in the Australian Museum, Sydney
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
P. pilligaensis is a small brown mouse with grey-brown upper parts, the head and back greyer, grading through russet flanks to white underparts. The feet are pale pink on top with white hairs. The head-body length is 73–80 millimetres (3–3 in) and the tail about the same length or slightly less. The tail is pale pink with a distinct brown line along the top and a small tuft of darker hairs on the end. The ear length is 15–18 millimetres (0.6–0.7 in) and the weight of the animal is 10–14 grams (0.4–0.5 oz).
Range & habitat
P. pilligaensis was described as having a restricted distribution in the Pilliga forest in central New South Wales, initially collected from only four sites within the Pilliga "scrub", none more than 50 km apart. More recent work has shown the Pilliga Mouse is found across central and eastern sections of the Pilliga forest. However, after a bushfire in January 2013 which burned about 80% of the Warrumbungle National Park, a specimen was collected in that park. Pilliga mouse populations increase rapidly in size after fire and rain. Recent research indicates that preferred habitat for this species includes shrubby woodlands and heathlands, particularly where Broombush Melaleuca uncinata and Bloodwood Corymbia trachyphloia occurs. The mouse is nocturnal and lives in burrows.
Where it has been recorded
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Pseudomys pilligaensis in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
From the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence records (GBIF.org), with Wikipedia and the Source Library. GBIF species 5219808.