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The Cairo spiny mouse (''Acomys cahirinus''), also known as the common spiny mouse, Egyptian spiny mouse, or Arabian spiny mouse, is a
nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...
species of
rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...
in the family
Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are the largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 1,383 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. The name Muridae come ...
. It is found in Africa north of the Sahara, where its natural
habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
s are rocky areas and hot
desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
s. It is omnivorous and feeds 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 Decidualization is a process that results in significant changes to cells of the endometrium in preparation for, and during, pregnancy. This includes morphological and functional changes (the decidual reaction) to endometrial stromal cells (ESCs), ...
and
menstruation Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized by the rise and fall of hor ...
.


Description

The Cairo spiny mouse grows to a head and body length of about with a tail of much the same length. Adults weigh between . The colour of the Cairo spiny mouse is sandy-brown or greyish-brown above and whitish beneath. A line of spine-like bristles run along the ridge of the back. The snout is slender and pointed, the eyes are large, the ears are large and slightly pointed and the tail is devoid of hairs. The spiny mouse is known to have relatively weak skin, compared to a ''
Mus musculus Mus or MUS may refer to: Abbreviations * MUS, the NATO country code for Mauritius * MUS, the IATA airport code for Minami Torishima Airport * MUS, abbreviation for the Centre for Modern Urban Studies on Campus The Hague, Leiden University, Neth ...
'', and tail autotomy.


Distribution and habitat

The Cairo spiny mouse is native to northern Africa with its range extending from Mauritania, Morocco, and Algeria in the west to Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Egypt in the east at altitudes up to about . It lives in dry stony
habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
s with sparse vegetation and is often found near human dwellings. It is common around cliffs and canyons and in gravelly plains with shrubby vegetation. It is not usually found in sandy habitats, but may be present among date palms.


Behaviour

Cairo spiny mice are social animals and live in a group with a dominant male. Breeding mostly takes place in the rainy season, between September and April, when availability of food is greater. The
gestation period In mammals, pregnancy is the period of reproduction during which a female carries one or more live offspring from implantation in the uterus through gestation. It begins when a fertilized zygote implants in the female's uterus, and ends once it ...
is five to six weeks, which is long for a mouse, and the young are well-developed when they are born. At this time, they are already covered with short fur and their eyes are open, and they soon start exploring their surroundings. The adults in the group cooperate in caring for the young, with lactating females feeding any of the group offspring. Females may become pregnant again immediately after giving birth, and have three or four litters of up to five young in a year. The juveniles mature at two to three months of age. Cairo spiny mice live in burrows or rock crevices and are mostly terrestrial, but they can also clamber about in low bushes. They are nocturnal and
omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutri ...
, eating anything edible they can find. Their diet includes seeds, nuts, fruit, green leaves, insects, spiders, molluscs, and carrion. When they live in the vicinity of humans, they consume crops, grain, and stored food. They sometimes enter houses, especially in winter, and dislike cold weather. The fruit of ''
Ochradenus ''Ochradenus'' is a genus of plant in family Resedaceae. It contains the following species (but this list may be incomplete): * '' Ochradenus socotranus'', * ''Ochradenus baccatus ''Ochradenus'' is a genus of plant in family Resedaceae Res ...
baccatus'' (= ''Reseda baccata'') has pleasant tasting flesh, but distasteful seeds. The Cairo desert mouse consumes the fruits, but spits the seeds out intact and thus acts as an efficient seed dispersal agent for this plant. The Cairo spiny mouse is a host of the
Acanthocephala Acanthocephala (Greek , ', thorn + , ', head) is a phylum of parasitic worms known as acanthocephalans, thorny-headed worms, or spiny-headed worms, characterized by the presence of an eversible proboscis, armed with spines, which it uses to p ...
n intestinal parasite '' Moniliformis acomysi''.


Status

The Cairo spiny mouse has a wide distribution and occupies diverse habitats. It is common and the population size large, so the
IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
, in its
Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...
, lists it as being of "
Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
".


Research interest

The spiny mouse is used for research in diabetes, development, regeneration, and menstruation. The spiny mouse is also the first known rodent species to exhibit spontaneous
decidualization Decidualization is a process that results in significant changes to cells of the endometrium in preparation for, and during, pregnancy. This includes morphological and functional changes (the decidual reaction) to endometrial stromal cells (ESCs), ...
and menstruation, potentially serving as a great candidate model to study menstrual related diseases. It exhibits a 9-day cycle, and is the first rodent found to have such a cycle. Gene sequencing is currently underway to investigate this, and other unique physiological traits displayed by this species.


References


External links

* *
A video demonstrating ''Acomys cahirinus'' spitting seed
{{Taxonbar, from=Q253966 Acomys Fauna of the Sahara Rodents of North Africa Mammals of the Middle East Stored-product pests Mammals described in 1803 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot