Blue-gray mouse

Pseudomys glaucus

Blamed on cats

IUCN status: Extinct

Last seen: Pseudomys glaucus were last seen in 1956 between Burren and Walgett, northern NSW (IUCN 2023)

IUCN claim: “Extinction is considered to have been due to habitat clearance and predation by feral cats. Predation by red foxes may have contributed.”

Studies in support

Blue-gray mice were last confirmed in the region of southeast QLD and northeast NSW and in north NSW 41-126 and 106-126 years after cats arrived, respectively (Wallach and Lundgren 2025).

Studies not in support

No studies

Is the threat claim evidence-based?

The two species co-occurred for over a century before extinction.

Evidence linking Pseudomys glaucus 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