Smoky mouse

The smoky mouse, Pseudomys fumeus, is a grey-furred rodent of the family Muridae native to southeastern Australia, first described in 1934; its species name is Latin for smoky. It is darker grey above and paler smoky grey below, with a black eye-ring, a dark grey muzzle, pink feet, grey-pink ears and a pink tail, with a brownish stripe along the top, that is longer than the body. Animals east of Melbourne average about 35 grams with bodies 107 millimetres long, while those of the Grampians are larger, around 65 grams, and a darker slate-grey. The species is rated vulnerable and is declining: its range is fragmented, it appears to have died out in places such as the Otway Ranges and the Brindabella Ranges, and fewer than 2,500 individuals remain, pressed by vegetation change and by feral cats, foxes and dogs. The Kosciuszko National Park population was feared lost after the 2019 to 2020 bushfires, but individuals were rediscovered in June 2020.