New Holland mouse

Pseudomys novaehollandiae

Blamed on foxes

IUCN status: Vulnerable

EPBC Predator Threat Rating: A threat

IUCN claim: “Predation by Red Foxes (moderate to minor): there is no direct evidence of significant predation on this species by Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes). Predation of similar-sized Pseudomys elsewhere is not significant at the population level.”

Studies in support

New holland mice were found in <1% of fox scats (Mitchell & Banks 2005; Pascoe et al. 2012).

Studies not in support

No studies

Is the threat claim evidence-based?

No studies were found linking foxes to New Holland mouse population trends.

Evidence linking Pseudomys novaehollandiae to foxes. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Pseudomys novaehollandiae and foxes. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that foxes contribute to the decline of Pseudomys novaehollandiae, 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 Pseudomys novaehollandiae to foxes. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Pseudomys novaehollandiae and foxes. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that foxes contribute to the decline of Pseudomys novaehollandiae, 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. (2013) Threat Abatement Plan for Predation by the European Red Fox (2008). Five yearly review. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Government of Australia (Appendix E: EPBC Act listed threatened species).

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

Mitchell, B.D. and Banks, P.B., 2005. Do wild dogs exclude foxes? Evidence for competition from dietary and spatial overlaps. Austral Ecology, 30(5), pp.581-591.

Pascoe, J.H., Mulley, R.C., Spencer, R. and Chapple, R., 2012. Diet analysis of mammals, raptors and reptiles in a complex predator assemblage in the Blue Mountains, eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology, 59(5), pp.295-301.

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