Long-eared mouse

Pseudomys auritus

Blamed on cats

IUCN status: Extinct

Last seen: Pseudomys auritus were last seen in 1850 (1800-1899) in Coorong through south-eastern SA to south-western Victoria (IUCN 2023)

IUCN claim: “Extinction likely due to a combination of predation by feral cats, land clearance and overgrazing by livestock.”

Studies in support

No studies

Studies not in support

Long-eared mice were last confirmed 60 years before, to 69 years after, cats arrived (Wallach and Lundgren 2025).

Is the threat claim evidence-based?

It cannot be verrified that extinction occurred after cat arrival.

Evidence linking Pseudomys auritus to cats. Last records of extirpated populations relative to earliest local records of cats. Error bars show record uncertainty range. Predator arrival records were digitized from Abbott 2008.

References

Abbott, The spread of the cat, Felis catus, in Australia: re-examination of the current conceptual model with additional information. Conservation Science Western Australia 7 (2008).

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