Country mouse

The country mouse (Pseudomys patrius) is a rodent of the family Muridae that is endemic to Queensland, Australia. It is also called the pebble-mound mouse or the eastern pebble mound mouse, and it was described by Thomas and Dollman in 1909. Like other pebble-mound mice it builds shallow burrows ringed by mounds of pebbles around the entrances. The mounds are understood to protect the burrow and to collect dew, so those seen in coastal Queensland are smaller than those in drier habitats, where water is scarcer. The mouse lines its tunnel walls with pebbles for insulation and protection, plugs smaller openings with a pebble to camouflage them, and removes the plug to escape when danger appears. Under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 of Queensland it has been assessed as Least Concern.