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Unexpected Captures of Hopping Mice in Tree-Mounted Phascogale Traps in Western Australia

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Hopping mice are omnivorous rodents known for their burrowing habits and are not typically found in trees. We provide a record of an unusually high number of hopping mice caught in tree-mounted Elliott traps targeting red-tailed phascogales ( Phascogale calura ) at a multi-species reintroduction site in Western Australia. In 2024, 43 captures of hopping mice, representing two extant Notomys spp. (spinifex hopping mouse N. alexis and Mitchell’s hopping mouse N. mitchellii ), were unexpectedly captured in Elliott traps positioned >1.5 m off the ground, including three instances where two hopping mice were captured in a single trap. These captures provide evidence of previously unrecorded climbing behaviour by foraging hopping mice.

Source: Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia

DOI: 10.70880/001c.133252

Authors: Amanda R. Bourne, Georgina E. Anderson, Salvino Mamo, Aliesha Dodson, Louis O'Neill

Institutions: Australian Wildlife Conservancy, University of Tasmania

Language: English

Topic: Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies

Subfield: Ecology

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

OpenAlex ID: W4408941558

FWCI:

Cites: 46

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Related to: 10