CreatureData

Crete spiny mouse

Acomys minous Bate, 1906

DDData Deficientrodents

The crete spiny mouse (Acomys minous) is a species in the family Muridae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 27 g to 62.5 g and live up to 5 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Data Deficient.

Crete spiny mouse (Acomys minous)
Photo: C messier · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the crete spiny mouse

Weight
27 g – 62.5 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
5 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
Data Deficient (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the crete spiny mouse live?

Not recorded

What is the crete spiny mouse?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Crete spiny mouse (Acomys minous) is a species of mouse endemic to Crete. It is characterized by the coarse, stiff hairs on its back and tail and a notably grayer coloration and more pointed face than other species of spiny mice. Its fur color varies from yellow to red, gray or brown on its face and back, with white fur on its underside. It is a nocturnal forager, feeding mainly on grass blades and seeds, and builds only a very rudimentary nest.

The gestation is between five and six weeks, which is unusually long for a mouse. At birth, other females clean and assist the mother. The young are well developed with open eyes when they are born.

Its taxonomic position is uncertain (it may be a variant of the Cairo spiny mouse) leading the IUCN to consider it data deficient, but it is common within its range and even if a valid species it is not threatened.

From the Wikipedia article “Crete spiny mouse” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crete_spiny_mouse&oldid=1382337031), 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 crete spiny mouse endangered?

The crete spiny mouse is listed as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List: it has too little data for its risk to be assessed.

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Data Deficient species.

How is the crete spiny mouse classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderRodentia
  5. familyMuridae
  6. genusAcomys
  7. SpeciesAcomys minous Bate, 1906

Synonyms Acomys dimidiatus minous

Other names and names in other languages (7)
  • Cretan spiny mouseEnglish
  • Cretan spiny mouseEnglish
  • Spiny mouseEnglish
  • Spiny mouseEnglish
  • Kreta-StachelmausGerman
  • Ratón Espinoso De CretaSpanish
  • Souris Épineuse De CreteFrench

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the crete spiny mouse

Other species in the same genus Acomys.

CompareCrete spiny mouse vs Cairo spiny mouseCrete spiny mouse vs Golden spiny mouseCrete spiny mouse vs Asia minor spiny mouseCrete spiny mouse vs Eastern spiny mouse

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the crete spiny mouse?

An adult crete spiny mouse weighs 27 g – 62.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the crete spiny mouse endangered?

The crete spiny mouse is listed as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List, meaning it has too little data for its risk to be assessed.

How long does the crete spiny mouse live?

The crete spiny mouse has a recorded lifespan of 5 years.

How long is the crete spiny mouse pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 38 days.

What kind of animal is the crete spiny mouse?

The crete spiny mouse (Acomys minous) 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.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Crete spiny mouse (Acomys minous). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/crete-spiny-mouse

MLA

“Crete spiny mouse (Acomys minous).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/crete-spiny-mouse.

BibTeX
@misc{crete_spiny_mouse_2026,
  title = {Crete spiny mouse (Acomys minous)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/crete-spiny-mouse},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}