Gould's mouse

Gould's mouse
Conservation status
	; Extinct (1857?) (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Muridae
Genus:	Pseudomys
Species:	†P. gouldii
Binomial name
	†Pseudomys gouldii; (Waterhouse, 1839)

Gould's mouse (Pseudomys gouldii) lived in eastern inland Australia, and was named after John Gould. It was slightly smaller than a black rat, and quite social, living in small family groups that sheltered by day in a nest of soft, dry grass in a burrow. It usually dug burrows at a depth of 15 cm under bushes. Gould's mouse was common and widespread before European settlement, but disappeared rapidly after the 1840s, perhaps being exterminated by cats. Alternatively, it may have been out-competed by the introduced rats and mice, succumbed to introduced diseases or been affected by grazing stock and changed fire regimes. Despite extensive survey work in its known range, the last specimens were collected in 1856–57, and it is presumed to be extinct.[1]

References

Baillie, J. 2008. Pseudomys gouldii. 2011 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Archived 2014-06-27 at the Wayback Machine Downloaded on 23 September 2011.

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[iucn-1] Baillie, J. 2008. Pseudomys gouldii. 2011 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Archived 2014-06-27 at the Wayback Machine Downloaded on 23 September 2011.