Gould's mouse

Gould mouse ( Pseudomys gouldii )

The Gould - mouse ( Pseudomys gouldii ), also known as Gould's Australian Small Mouse, is an extinct rodent from the genus of Australian mice. The type of George Robert Waterhouse was named in honor of Elizabeth Gould.

Features

With a head-body length of 100 to 120 mm Gould mouse was slightly smaller than the black rat (Rattus rattus ). The tail length was 90 to 100 mm, the Hinterfußlänge 16 to 18 mm and weight about 50 grams. The females had four abdominal teats. The ears were quite large and somewhat pointed. The feet were thin and quite long. The coat was long and soft. At the top it was light ocher- yellow with numerous scattered long black hairs on the back. The feet, chin, throat and the entire underside were white. The ears were brown with tiny scattered yellow hairs. The long whiskers were brownish. The upper incisors were deep orange, the lower yellowish. The claws were white.

Way of life

The Gould - mouse lived in small family groups. During the day she was looking for in about 15 centimeters deep soil pits that were built under bushes, shelter. The nest was lined with soft hay.

Extinction

Subfossiles material that has been found in widely separated regions of Australia, suggests that the distribution area of ​​the Gould - mouse stretched before colonization over wide ranges West, Southwest and South Australia. However, from the 1830s, it gradually disappeared from their habitats. The exact causes of their disappearance are unclear, but feral cats and the destruction of the soil by grazing cattle may have played a role in the extinction of the species. The last copies of Gould Mouse gathered the Blandowski expedition during the years 1856 and 1857 in the area of the confluence of the Darling River and the Murray River in New South Wales.