Hastings River mouse

Pseudomys oralis

Blamed on foxes

IUCN status: Vulnerable

EPBC Predator Threat Rating: High

IUCN claim: “Predation by Red Foxes (moderate)”

Studies in support

Hastings River mouse remains were found in foxes’ diet (Meek & Triggs 1999).

Studies not in support

No studies

Is the threat claim evidence-based?

No studies were found linking foxes to Hastings River mouse population trends.

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

Meek, P.D. and Triggs, B., 1999. A record of Hastings River Mouse (Pseudomys oralis) in a fox (Vulpes vulpes) scat from New South Wales. In Proceedings-Linnean Society of New South Wales (Vol. 121, pp. 193-197). Linnean Society of New South Wales.

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