Animal profile

Bramble Cay Melomys

Melomys rubicola

MammaliaLow vegetated coral cayExtinct

Field profile

The Bramble Cay melomys was a small mosaic-tailed rodent found only on a single low coral cay in the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea. Its entire habitat covered a few hectares barely above sea level. It was last recorded in 2009 and declared extinct in 2019.

Published field notes

2023-06-03

Bramble Cay Melomys

This rodent was the first mammal lost to sea level rise

The Bramble Cay melomys lived on a single sand cay a few metres above the sea. Repeated storm surges stripped the vegetation it fed on, and in 2019 Australia declared it extinct, the first mammal whose loss was formally attributed to sea level rise.

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