[2] The desert mouse has bright chestnut brown fur above, interspersed with long dark guard hairs which give it a spiny appearance.

[3] Weight is between 15-35 g.[3] Widespread throughout the arid zone of Australia, the desert mouse also inhabits in the north dry savannah region of Queensland.

[4] Its preferred habitat ranges from sand dunes with spinifex to rocky hillsides, which it uses to create shallow burrows.

[3] The gestation period lasts 27–28 days, with an average litter size of three pups who will themselves become reproductively mature at about ten weeks.

[1] Other threats are posed by introduced species, such as predation by foxes and feral cats,[7] competition from other herbivores like the house mouse (Mus musculus),[7] and habitat alteration by exotic grasses in Queensland.