Dusky hopping mouse

The dusky hopping mouse (Notomys fuscus), is a small rodent endemic to Australia, inhabiting desert regions characterised by sand dunes. Populations have experienced significant declines since the arrival of Europeans, and continue to be subject to threatening processes. It is currently listed as a threatened species. Taxonomy The dusky hopping mouse, or Wilkinti, is a mammal in the order Rodentia, and suborder Sciurognathi. The species is in the family Muridae and the subfamily Murinae (includes all Australian native rats and mice). The dusky hopping mouse belongs to the genus Notomys, a group of desert-dwelling rodents. The species was originally described as Ascopharynx fuscus (Wood Jones 1925) from a specimen collected in South Australia. Subsequent collections were described as Notomys fuscus eyreius in 1960. Hopping mice collected in Queensland between 1957 and 1959 were described as a new species, Notomys filmeri, however, later taxonomic investigation revealed these were Notomys fuscus.