Cretan spiny mouse, Acomys cahirinus minous

Photo category:
Living Museum
Vertebrates specimen collection
Natural History Museum of Crete exhibition

Photo taken by:
Trichas, A.
Photo taken date:
March 2013

Crete Spiny Mouse

Rodents

Mammals

Animals

Vertebrates

Living Museum

Phrygana diorama

Photo of the Cretan spiny mouse, Acomys cahirinus minous, a small rodent found in Crete. It gets its name from the characteristic spiny hair on the lower part of its back. It lives in small hierarchically structured communities and eats insects, snails and seeds. It does not dig and thus prefers rocky areas, which offer many habitats. Related varieties live in Cyprus and coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean.