Pseudomys is agenus ofrodent that contains a wide variety ofmice native toAustralia andNew Guinea. They are among the fewterrestrialplacentalmammals that colonised Australia withouthuman intervention.
This genus contains a number of species with different habits making generalisation difficult. The overall body size varies widely, ranging from 60 to 160 mm. The tail is 60–180 mm and the weight is recorded from 12 to 90 g. They inhabit a wide variety ofhabitats fromrainforests toplains andgrasslands. The animals arenocturnal and spend the day inburrows. Food also varies with some species eatingseeds,roots andinsects while others feed primarily ongrasses. Thepebble-mound mice are unique in creating mounds of stones around their burrows. Several species ofPseudomys are threatened due to competition with introduced species andhabitat destruction. Several others are probablyextinct.
The namePseudomys means "false mouse"[1] presumably in reference to both its similarity and uniqueness from "true mice" in the genusMus.
GenusPseudomys - Australian native mice
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