The Crete spiny mouse is a threatened species

Threatened species

Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...

 of mouse endemic

Endemic (ecology)

Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...

 to Crete

Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

. 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

Spiny mouse

The term spiny mouse refers to any species of rodent within the genus Acomys. Similar in appearance to mice of the genus Mus, spiny mice are small mammals with bare, scaled tails...

. 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

Nocturnal animal

Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by activity during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal"....

 forager

Foraging

- Definitions and significance of foraging behavior :Foraging is the act of searching for and exploiting food resources. It affects an animal's fitness because it plays an important role in an animal's ability to survive and reproduce...

, feeding mainly on grass blades and seeds, and builds only a very rudimentary nest.

The gestation

Gestation

Gestation is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. Mammals during pregnancy can have one or more gestations at the same time ....

is between 5 and 6 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.