Golden-backed tree-rat

Mesembriomys macrurus

Blamed on cats

IUCN status: Near Threatened

EPBC Predator Threat Rating: Not assessed

IUCN claim: “Another threat is predation by feral cats (moderate, mainland part of range), which has not been demonstrated, but is highly plausible on the mainland; however, this is somewhat ameliorated by the rugged nature of habitat, which offers some protection from cats, and by partially arboreal behaviour.”

Studies in support

No studies

Studies not in support

No studies

Is the threat claim evidence-based?

No studies were found linking cats to golden-backed tree-rats.

Evidence linking Mesembriomys macrurus to cats. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Mesembriomys macrurus and cats. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that cats contribute to the decline of Mesembriomys macrurus, negative studies are not in support. Predation studies include studies documenting hunting or scavenging; baiting studies are associations between poison baiting and threatened mammal abundance where information on predator abundance is not provided; population studies are associations between threatened mammal and predator abundance. Gold borders indicate studies that meet qualities of scientific rigour. See methods section in Wallach and Lundgren 2025 for details on evidence categories.
Evidence linking Mesembriomys macrurus to cats. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Mesembriomys macrurus and cats. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that cats contribute to the decline of Mesembriomys macrurus, negative studies are not in support. Predation studies include studies documenting hunting or scavenging; baiting studies are associations between poison baiting and threatened mammal abundance where information on predator abundance is not provided; population studies are associations between threatened mammal and predator abundance. Gold borders indicate studies that meet qualities of scientific rigour. See methods section in Wallach and Lundgren 2025 for details on evidence categories.

References

IUCN Red List. https://www.iucnredlist.org/ Accessed June 2023

Wallach A.D., Lundgren E.J. (2025) Review of evidence that foxes and cats cause extinctions of Australia’s endemic mammals. BioScience. DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biaf046