The term spiny mouse refers to any species of rodent within the genus Acomys.[1] Similar in appearance to mice of the genus Mus, spiny mice are small mammals with bare tails which contain osteoderms, a rare feature in mammals.[2] Their coats are endowed with unusually stiff guard hairs similar to the spines of a hedgehog; this trait is the source of the common name, spiny mouse.
Despite their anatomic similarity to members of the genus Mus, genetic evidence suggests that the African spiny mice may be more closely related to gerbils than to common mice.[3]
^Musser, G.G.; Carleton, M.D. (2005). "Genus Acomys". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 1194–1201. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
^Maden, Malcolm; Polvadore, Trey; Polanco, Arod; Barbazuk, W. Brad; Stanley, Edward (2023-05-24). "Osteoderms in a mammal the spiny mouse Acomys and the independent evolution of dermal armor". iScience. 26 (6). Bibcode:2023iSci...26j6779M. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.106779. PMC 10291248. PMID 37378333.
^Steppan, S.; Adkins, R.; Anderson, J. (2004). "Phylogeny and Divergence-Date Estimates of Rapid Radiations in Muroid Rodents Based on Multiple Nuclear Genes". Systematic Biology. 53 (4): 533–553. doi:10.1080/10635150490468701. PMID 15371245.
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