Heath Mouse

About the Heath Mouse

The heath mouse (Pseudomys shortridgei) is a species of mouse in the subfamily Murinae, the Old World rats and mice, found in Australia. A description of the species, based on material collected by Guy Shortridge at "Woyaline, east of Pinjelly", was published by Oldfield Thomas in 1907.

Shortridge was a South African mammal specialist commissioned to perform fieldwork in Western Australia for the British Museum of Natural History, and was honoured for this by Thomas in the specific epithet of the new taxon.

The species is referred to by the common names heath mouse or heath rat, and by the pre-existing name dayang, derived from the Noongar language. Common names also include blunt-faced rat, Shortridge's native mouse, fausse souris de Shortridge (French), and ratón bastardo crestado (Spanish).

Eastern and western population are not morphologically or phylogenetically distinguishable, although noted for ecological differences that suggests definable groups of the species. The tolerance of the western and southern populations to alterations in fire regimes and frequency may also indicate divergence within the species.

A larger species of the Pseudomys... Wikipedia →