Darling Downs hopping mouse

The Darling Downs hopping mouse (Notomys mordax) is an extinct Australian rodent in the family Muridae, known from a single skull found at the Darling Downs in Queensland. Oldfield Thomas described it as a species in 1922 after examining the jerboa-rats of the genus Notomys at the British Museum and corresponding with Troughton at the Australian Museum. The skull resembles that of Mitchell's hopping mouse, which still lives along the southern coast, but significant differences in the teeth set it apart. The origin of the specimen was questioned after its description, though later reviewers saw no reasonable basis for the doubt, and early twentieth century authors suggested it might be a large Mitchell's hopping mouse. Subfossil remains at Coonabarabran in northeastern New South Wales complicate the picture and leave three uncertain scenarios for its former range. Introduced predators such as foxes and domestic cats may have forced it into extinction, and the IUCN Red List treats it as extinct.