Central rock rat

Zyzomys pedunculatus

Blamed on cats

IUCN status: Critically Endangered

EPBC Predator Threat Rating: Very high

IUCN claim: “Recent evidence has shown predation by feral cats”

Studies in support

Cats hunt central rock rats (McDonald et al. 2014).

Studies not in support

No studies

Is the threat claim evidence-based?

No studies were found linking cats to central rock rat population trends.

Evidence linking Zyzomys pedunculatus to cats. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Zyzomys pedunculatus and cats. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that cats contribute to the decline of Zyzomys pedunculatus, 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 Zyzomys pedunculatus to cats. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Zyzomys pedunculatus and cats. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that cats contribute to the decline of Zyzomys pedunculatus, 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

EPBC. (2015) Threat Abatement Plan for Predation by Feral Cats. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Department of Environment, Government of Australia. (Table A1).

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

McDonald, P.J., Brittingham, R., Nano, C. and Paltridge, R., 2014. A new population of the critically endangered central rock-rat (Zyzomys pedunculatus) discovered in the Northern Territory. Australian Mammalogy, 37(1), pp.97-100.

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