Crete Stachelmaus

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The Crete Stachelmaus (Acomys minous) is a mammal from the long-tailed mice family. The species is an endemic to Crete, but the species status is controversial.

Labels
The Crete Stachelmaus, like all species of the genus Acomys, is significantly larger and heavier than the house mouse. Like all porcupine mice, it has strikingly large ears and eyes, a pointed snout, a body-length, scaled tail and a back skin consisting of stiff, spike-like hair. The head to truncated length is 90–128 mm, the tail length is 89–120 mm, the length of the hindfoot is 18–20 mm and the ear length is 16–20 mm. The animals weigh 30–86 g. The coat is almost monochrome gray on the top, more gray red on the flanks. The underside is sharply offset white.

Distribution and habitat
The species is an end with Crete. The animals inhabit dry, rocky slopes with steppe vegetation and macchie from sea level to about 1000 m. Especially in winter, the species also occurs in houses.

Systematic classification
The Crete Stachelmaus is currently still recognized as its own species, but this species status is controversial. Lineages lead to both the Egyptian goose mouse (Acomys cahirinus) and the Turkish goose mouse (Acomys cilicicus). The morphological differences to the other two species and to the Cyprus Stachelmaus (Acomys nesiotes) are small. All four species could therefore be conspecific. There are no fossil or subfossil finds on Crete of the species from the early Pliocene, when Crete was separated from the mainland, suggesting that it was only introduced by the sea trade in Crete in antiquity. A similar distribution history is assumed for the Cyprus Stachelmaus. There is a breed of porcupines in Crete with 36 and a second with 38 chromosomes.

lifestyle
Crete sting mice are dusk and nocturnal active. They climb very well, when running fast, the tail is often lifted over the back. The animals live in small social organizations in which a female is dominant. Crete sting mice are omnivores, but mostly predominates plant food in the form of seeds.

Stock and hazard
The Crete Stachelmaus is widespread in Crete and probably locally common, there are no indications of stock declines. Due to the unsecured species status, the IUCN only indicates the degree of danger of the stock with "data deficient".

Sources

Literature
Stéphane Aulagnier, Patrick Haffner, Anthony J. Mitchell-Jones, François Moutou, Jan Zima: The mammals of Europe, North Africa and Near East Asia. The determinant. Haupt, Bern and Others 2009, ISBN 978-3-258-07506-8, pp. 240–241.
Anthony J. Mitchell-Jones, Giovanni Amori, Wieslaw Bogdanowicz, Boris Krystufek, P. J. H. Reijnders, Friederike Spitzeberger, Michael Stubbe, Johan B. M. Thissen, Vladimiŕ Vohralik, Jan Zima: The Atlas of European Mammals. Poyser, London, 1999, ISBN 0-85661-130-