Pseudomys pilligaensis Fox and Briscoe 1980

Pseudomys pilligaensis Fox and Briscoe 1980, Aust. Mammal., 3: 112.

Type Locality: Australia, New South Wales, Merriwindi State Forest, 3 km west of Pilliga-Baradine Road., Cumberdeen Road (Fox and Briscoe, 1980, provided additional information).

Vernacular Names: Pilliga Pseudomys.

Distribution: Australia, N New South Wales, collected from a few localities within the Pilliga Scrub (Fox and Briscoe, 1980:119).

Conservation: IUCN – Vulnerable.

Discussion: Chromosomal morphology described by Fox and Briscoe (1980). Morphological and electrophoretic data supported a close phylogenetic relationship of P. pilligaensis to P. delicatulus and P. novaehollandiae (Briscoe et al., 1981), which was reinforced by spermatozoal morphology (Breed, 1983). Reviewed by Fox (1995 b). Recent DNA sequencing studies by F. Ford reveal a complex mosaic of delicatulus and novaehollandiae genotypes and phenotypes within the geographic area occupied by ‘ pillagaensis,’ raising the distinct possibility that the latter ‘taxon’ actually identifies a zone of hybrid interaction between delicatulus and novaehollandiae (F. Ford, in litt., 2004).