TABLE 1.
Records of albinism in Australian rodents sourced from the historic (gray literature and museum) survey, a contemporary ecologist/naturalist survey, and a camera trap survey for rakali on Barrow Island.
| Genus | Species | Year (month) | State (region) | Sex (weight) | Survey method | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hydromys |
Rakali (H. chrysogaster) | 1937 | Vic (Melbourne) | Historic (gray literature) | M. E. Freame | |
| 2019 (Oct) | WA (Barrow Island) | Barrow Island camera trap | Judy Dunlop, Emmalie Sanders | |||
| 2019 (Oct) | WA (Barrow Island) | Barrow Island camera trap | ||||
| 2019 (Nov) | WA (Barrow Island) | Barrow Island camera trap | ||||
| 2007 | WA (Barrow Island) | F (455 g) | Contemporary |
Keith Morris |
||
| 2008 | WA (Barrow Island) | F (430 g) | Contemporary | |||
| 2011 | WA (Barrow Island) | M (605 g) | Contemporary | |||
| 2011 | WA (Barrow Island) | Contemporary |
Pendoley Environmental |
|||
| 2015 | WA (Barrow Island) | Contemporary | ||||
| 2015 | WA (Barrow Island) | Contemporary | ||||
| Pseudomys | Ash‐gray mouse (P. albocinereus) | 1988 (Nov) | WA (Goldfields) | M (23 g) | Contemporary | Chris Dickman |
| Desert mouse (P. desertor) | 2001 (March) | QLD (Simpson Desert) | Contemporary | |||
| Heath mouse (P. shortridgei) | 2012 (June) | Vic (Grampians National Park) | M | Contemporary | Susannah Hale | |
| Rattus | Bush rat (R. fuscipes) | 2021 (April) | Vic (Otway Ranges) | Contemporary | Michael Loughnan | |
| 1980 (July) | ACT (Brindabella Ranges) | F (75 g) | Contemporary | Chris Dickman | ||
| 1991 (July) | NSW (Chichester State Forest) | M (82 g) | Contemporary | |||
| 2021 (Jan) | Vic (Otway Ranges) | F (125 g) | Contemporary | Darcy Watchorn | ||
| Brown rat (R. norvegicus)* | 1891 | Unknown | Historic (gray literature) | The Sydney Morning Herald | ||
| 1931 | NSW (Surry Hills) | Historic (gray literature) | Daily Pictorial (Sydney) | |||
| 1945 | NSW (Tallong) | Historic (gray literature) | Goulburn Evening Post | |||
| Canefield rat (R. sordidus) | 1939 | Qld (Macknade) | M | Historic (museum) | Australian Museum | |
| Long‐haired rat (R. villosissimus) | 1940 | QLD (Unknown) | Historic (gray literature) | T. A. J. Carnegie & W. Wells | ||
| 1951 | QLD (Unknown) | Historic (gray literature) | J. Brooke | |||
| 1991 (July) | QLD (Simpson Desert) | M (69 g) | Contemporary | Chris Dickman | ||
| 2011 (Aug) | QLD (Simpson Desert) | F (80 g) | Contemporary | |||
| Unknown | Unknown founder location (captive born) | Historic (museum) |
South Australian Museum |
|||
| Unknown | Unknown founder location (captive born) | Historic (museum) | ||||
| Uromys | Giant white‐tailed rat (U. caudimaculatus) | pre‐1900 | QLD (Unknown) | Historic (museum) | Australian Museum | |
| Mus | House mouse (Mus musculus)* | 1914 | WA (North Perth) | Historic (gray literature) | The Daily News (Perth) | |
| 1916 | WA (Donnybrook) | Historic (gray literature) | The West Australian | |||
| 1999 | QLD (Emerald) | F (11 g) | Contemporary | Chris Dickman |
Note: There were 31 records of albino rodents identified from our surveys, including eight records from the gray literature survey (three native, five non‐native), four records from the museum survey (two wild‐born, two captive‐born), 16 records from the contemporary survey (15 native, one non‐native), and three records from the camera trap survey on Barrow Island. Non‐native species are denoted by an asterisk next to the species name. Month, region, and weight of specimen record are provided in parentheses where data were available. The complete contemporary survey list, which includes references and rodent species for which no albinos were recorded, can be found in the Appendix (Table A1).
Abbreviations: State abbreviations: ACT, Australian Capital Territory; NSW, New South Wales; QLD, Queensland; Tas, Tasmania; Vic, Victoria; WA, Western Australia. Sex abbreviations: M, male; F, female.