Spinifex hopping mouse
species of mammal
The spinifex hopping mouse (Notomys alexis), also known as the tarkawara or tarrkawarra, occurs throughout the central and western Australian arid zones, occupying both spinifex-covered sand flats and stabilised sand dunes, and loamy mulga and melaleuca flats.
The population fluctuates greatly: in normal years it is sparsely distributed and probably confined to sandy country; after rain the population explodes and spreads to other types of habitat for a time.
They are mostly seen at night, bounding across open ground on their large hind feet, with tails extended and the body almost horizontal.
As semi-fossorial, burrowing surface foragers, the tiny hopping mice spend a great deal of energy not just foraging for food, but also transporting it back to their burrows. In fact, it was found that the total energy spent on transporting food in relation to energy investment on burrows far outweighed any other similar type of species.
Appearance
The appearance is very similar to the northern hopping mouse: slightly larger than a common house mouse at 95 to 115 mm (3.7 to 4.5 in) head-body length and an average weight of 35 g (1.2 oz). As with all hopping mice, the hind legs are greatly elongated, the fore limbs small, and the brush-tipped tail very long—about 140 mm (5.5 in). The fur is chestnut or fawn above, pale below, with a grey wash about the muzzle and between the eye and ear, and longer, coarse black guard hairs on the back. The tail is sparsely furred and pink, darker above than below.
Spinifex hopping mice live in small family groups of up to 10 individuals in deep, humid burrow systems.
“Spinifex hopping mouse” enters the record as species of mammal. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Spinifex, hopping and mouse can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1060476. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Spinifex hopping mouse” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.