Darling Downs hopping mouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Darling Downs hopping mouse |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Notomys
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| Species: |
mordax
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The Darling Downs hopping mouse (Notomys mordax) was a type of mammal that is now extinct. It belonged to the mouse and rat family, Muridae. We only know about it from a single skull found in Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. This small creature likely disappeared because of new animals like foxes and pet cats that were brought to Australia. The skull shows it was a type of Notomys, which are also called hopping mice. Many hopping mouse species in Australia have seen their numbers drop quickly, and some have even gone extinct.
What We Know From the Skull
The skull of the Darling Downs hopping mouse is similar to the Notomys mitchellii. This species still lives in southern coastal parts of Australia. However, the Darling Downs hopping mouse had important differences in its teeth. These differences helped scientists identify it as a separate species.
When the skull was first described, some people questioned where it actually came from. But later studies showed there was no good reason to doubt its origin. In the early 1900s, some scientists also thought it might just be a very large Mitchell's hopping mouse.
Things became more complicated when older bone pieces were found in Coonabarabran, New South Wales. These bones matched the Mitchell's hopping mouse. This discovery left scientists with questions about where the Darling Downs hopping mouse used to live or how it became a separate species.
How It Was Discovered
The Darling Downs hopping mouse was officially described by a scientist named Oldfield Thomas in 1922. He studied "jerboa-rats," which is another name for hopping mice, at the British Museum. He also talked with another scientist, Troughton, at the Australian Museum.
From his studies, Thomas described this new species, Notomys mordax. He also described the widespread Notomys alexis, which lives in the dry, central parts of Australia where spinifex plants grow. Thomas had first noticed the skull of the Darling Downs hopping mouse in 1921. But he waited to name it as a new species until he could examine more samples.
See also
In Spanish: Notomys mordax para niños
