CreatureData

Golden spiny mouse

Acomys russatus (Wagner, 1840)

LCLeast Concernrodents

The golden spiny mouse (Acomys russatus) is a species in the family Muridae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 49.8 g to 54.9 g and live up to 4.41 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Golden spiny mouse (Acomys russatus)
Photo: Mickey Samuni-Blank · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the golden spiny mouse

Weight
49.8 g – 54.9 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
4.41 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
5 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Gestation
34.4 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
2.5src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
3 monthssrc for Age at maturity
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

Where does the golden spiny mouse live?

Not recorded

What is the golden spiny mouse?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The golden spiny mouse (Acomys russatus) gets its name from the reddish-orange spiny fur that covers its body from head to tail. This coarse, inflexible fur is thought to protect it from predation. Aside from the golden fur that covers its head and upper parts, its flanks are yellow and its underside is pale. It has gray legs with pale feet and black soles. It is also described as having a small, but distinct white spot under each eye. It is often found in the wild missing a part or all of its tail because it is able to shed this as a defense mechanism. However, it is not known how this is done, how often it can occur, or under what conditions. It lives an average of three years in the wild. It is omnivorous and feeds on seeds, desert plants, snails, and insects. Living in desert regions, it is a xeric animal that obtains water from the plants that it eats and produces very concentrated urine in order to conserve water. A. russatus is naturally nocturnal, but adapts to being diurnal when it shares a habitat with A. cahirinus.

From the Wikipedia article “Golden spiny mouse” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Golden_spiny_mouse&oldid=1344744505), 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 golden spiny mouse endangered?

The golden spiny mouse is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the golden spiny mouse classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderRodentia
  5. familyMuridae
  6. genusAcomys
  7. SpeciesAcomys russatus (Wagner, 1840)

Synonyms Acomys lewisi, Acomys russatus aegyptiacus, Acomys russatus lewisi, Mus affinis, Mus russatus

Other names and names in other languages (14)
  • فأر شوكي ذهبيArabic
  • myš rezaváCzech
  • Gold-StachelmausGerman
  • Goldene StachelmausGerman
  • Ratón Espinoso del Mar RojoSpanish
  • kultaokahiiriFinnish
  • Rat épineux doréFrench
  • Souris épineuse doréeFrench
  • קוצן זהובHebrew
  • Topo spinoso doratoItalian
  • キンイロトゲマウスJapanese
  • Gouden StekelmuisDutch
  • kolcomysz złotawaPolish
  • Золотистая иглистая мышьRussian

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the golden spiny mouse

Other species in the same genus Acomys.

CompareGolden spiny mouse vs Cairo spiny mouseGolden spiny mouse vs Crete spiny mouseGolden spiny mouse vs Asia minor spiny mouseGolden spiny mouse vs Eastern spiny mouse

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the golden spiny mouse?

An adult golden spiny mouse weighs 49.8 g – 54.9 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the golden spiny mouse endangered?

The golden 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 golden spiny mouse live?

The golden spiny mouse has a recorded lifespan of 4.41 years.

How long is the golden spiny mouse pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 34.4 days.

What kind of animal is the golden spiny mouse?

The golden spiny mouse (Acomys russatus) 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). Golden spiny mouse (Acomys russatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/golden-spiny-mouse

MLA

“Golden spiny mouse (Acomys russatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/golden-spiny-mouse.

BibTeX
@misc{golden_spiny_mouse_2026,
  title = {Golden spiny mouse (Acomys russatus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/golden-spiny-mouse},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}