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Elected representatives in government are in charge of the policy and funding that can make or break saving threatened species. Their decisions and actions matter.

Barker has or used to have 48 threatened animals within its boundaries. One of them is me, the Heath Mouse.

We took care to attach appropriate images that are as close to representative of each species as our resources and the availability of images allowed. However, we could not ensure perfect accuracy in every case. Some images show species that share the same genus but not at the species or subspecies level.

Photo of Heath Mouse

Heath Mouse

Pseudomys shortridgei

Status: Endangered

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) lists threatened species under six categories:
Extinct, Extinct in the wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Conservation dependent. Read more about these categories

Pseudomys shortridgei is found across 4 electorates.

The heath mouse occurs in species-rich and structurally complex heathland and woodland in two disjunct areas in south-west Western Australia and around the southern border of South Australia and Victoria. The Grampians National Park is considered a stronghold for the species in Victoria. In Western Australia, the species has not been located in vegetation less than 10 years after fire, and the highest densities of the species have been recorded in vegetation 30 years after fire. In Victoria, highest densities have been recorded 5-15 years after fire. The species is a generalist herbivore and is active in the late afternoon and early evening and again in the morning. The species utilises well defined runways and establishes surface nests or shallow burrows amongst dense ground cover.¹

Explore more about this species on the Atlas of Living Australia

Adverse fire regimesAdverse fire regimes

Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradationHabitat loss, fragmentation and degradation

Invasive species and diseasesInvasive species and diseases

Explore more about the threats facing species on our Resources page.

Barker has or used to have 54 threatened plants found within its boundaries. Some of these might not be as photogenic as the Heath Mouse but they're just as important.

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