Order Rodentia - Family Muridae Author Wilson, Don E. Author Reeder, DeeAnn text 2005 The Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2 1189 1531 book chapter 0-8018-8221-4 10.5281/zenodo.7316535 Notomys mordax Thomas 1922 Notomys mordax Thomas 1922 , Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 9, 9: 317 . Type Locality: Australia , SE Queensland , Darling Downs. Vernacular Names: Darling Downs Hopping Mouse . Distribution: Known only from the type locality. Conservation: IUCN – Extinct. Discussion: Still represented only by the the skull of the holotype ( Mahoney, 1977 ). Apparently extinct ( Mahoney and Richardson, 1988 ; Watts, 1995 d ; Watts and Aslin, 1981 ). Provenance of the skull was questioned by Mack (1961) , but Mahoney (1977) claimed there were no adequate reasons for doubting that it came from Darling Downs and considered N. mordax a valid species closely related to N. mitchelli . Watts and Aslin (1981:121) remarked that "it is not possible to be sure that this one skull really represents a distinct species, or whether it is simply that of a large specimen of Mitchell's hopping-mouse." K. Aplin (in litt., 2004) wrote that a subfossil sample obtained recently from near Coonabarabran (NE New South Wales ) contains good material of a Notomys similar to N. mitchelli from W Victoria , but with slightly smaller teeth ( N. mitchelli has smaller molars than exhibited by the larger-toothed N. mordax ; Mahoney, 1977 ). Habitat around the site is not dissimilar to that of Darling Downs. Various possibilities are being considered: 1) that the Coonabarabran material is referable to mordax , with the holotype of mordax being an individual with unusually large teeth; 2) that two species of Notomys were found in this wider region, namely mordax and a smaller, mitchelli like taxon; and 3) that all of the N New South Wales and SE Queensland Notomys , including the holotype of mordax , are referable to N. mitchelli . Aplin also noted a possible recent sight record of a live hopping mouse from the Pilliga region (NE New South Wales ); this record is now being seriously investigated by personnel of the New South Wales National Parks Service.