Little native mouse

The little native mouse (Pseudomys delicatulus), also called the delicate mouse, is a rodent in the family Muridae. The Kunwinjku people of western Arnhem Land call it kijbuk. It is found in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales, and in Papua New Guinea. It is the smallest of the Australian native mice, with a head and body length of 55 to 75 mm and a weight of 6 to 15 g, and its fur is yellow-brown to grey-brown above and white beneath. It lives in sandy, well drained, sparsely covered savanna, sheltering in hollow logs, under bark or in burrows, sometimes dug into termite mounds, and grass seeds make up most of its diet. In Arnhem Land, where it has been studied most, young are born in July and August after a gestation of 28 to 31 days. A 2024 genetic study found that delicate mouse populations belong to three species rather than one.