Dusky hopping mouse

The dusky hopping mouse (Notomys fuscus), also called the Wilkinti, is a small rodent endemic to Australia that lives in desert regions with sand dunes. It belongs to the family Muridae and to Notomys, a genus of desert-dwelling rodents. It has pale orange-brown upper parts, grey-white under parts, large furless ears, long hind feet and a tail of 120 to 155 millimetres ending in a dark tuft. It lives in social colonies of up to five animals in deep burrows dug into stabilised dune crests, forages at night, and eats mainly seeds. Its range has shrunk by more than 90 percent since the arrival of Europeans, and it now survives in patchy populations in north-east South Australia, south-west Queensland and far north-west New South Wales. It is threatened by foxes, feral cats, overgrazing and competition from house mice.