Cairo spiny mouse
Acomys cahirinus (É. Geoffroy, 1803)
The cairo spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus) is a species in the family Muridae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 27 g to 52.5 g and live up to 5.45 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Quick facts about the cairo spiny mouse
- Weight
- 27 g – 52.5 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 5.45 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 7.48 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 38 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.47src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 58.5 dayssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 3.5src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the cairo spiny mouse
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Where does the cairo spiny mouse live?
Not recorded
What is the cairo spiny mouse?
The Cairo spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus), also known as the common spiny mouse, Egyptian spiny mouse, or Arabian spiny mouse, is a nocturnal species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Africa north of the Sahara Desert, where its natural habitats are rocky areas and hot deserts. It is omnivorous, feeding on seeds, desert plants, snails, and insects. It is a gregarious animal and lives in small family groups. It is the first and only known rodent species that exhibit spontaneous decidualization and menstruation.
From the Wikipedia article “Cairo spiny mouse” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cairo_spiny_mouse&oldid=1368874551), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the cairo spiny mouse endangered?
The cairo spiny mouse is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the cairo spiny mouse classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyMuridae
- genusAcomys
- SpeciesAcomys cahirinus (É. Geoffroy, 1803)
Synonyms Acomys cahirinus, Acomys cahirinus helmyi, Acomys dimidiatus megalodus, Acomys hunteri, Acomys sabryi, Acomys viator, Mus cahirinus
Other names and names in other languages (6)
- Greater Wilfred's mouseEnglish
- Greater Wilfred's mouseEnglish
- Greater Wilfred’s mouseEnglish
- Northeast African spiny mouseEnglish
- Northeast African spiny mouseEnglish
- Ägyptische StachelmausGerman
Relatives of the cairo spiny mouse
Other species in the same genus Acomys.

Golden spiny mouse
Acomys russatus

Crete spiny mouse
Acomys minous

Asia minor spiny mouse
Acomys cilicicus

Eastern spiny mouse
Acomys dimidiatus

Cape spiny mouse
Acomys subspinosus
Gray spiny mouse
Acomys cineraceus
CompareCairo spiny mouse vs Golden spiny mouseCairo spiny mouse vs Crete spiny mouseCairo spiny mouse vs Asia minor spiny mouseCairo spiny mouse vs Eastern spiny mouse
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the cairo spiny mouse?
An adult cairo spiny mouse weighs 27 g – 52.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the cairo spiny mouse endangered?
The cairo spiny mouse is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the cairo spiny mouse live?
The cairo spiny mouse has a recorded lifespan of 5.45 years.
How long is the cairo spiny mouse pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 38 days.
What kind of animal is the cairo spiny mouse?
The cairo spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus) belongs to the family Muridae in the order Rodentia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Cairo spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cairo-spiny-mouse
“Cairo spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cairo-spiny-mouse.
@misc{cairo_spiny_mouse_2026,
title = {Cairo spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cairo-spiny-mouse},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}