Cyprus mouse

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Cyprus mouse
Systematics
Superfamily : Mice-like (Muroidea)
Family : Long-tailed mice (Muridae)
Subfamily : Old World Mice (Murinae)
Tribe : Murini
Genre : Mice ( Mus )
Type : Cyprus mouse
Scientific name
Mus cypriacus
Cucchi et al., 2006

The Cyprus mouse ( Mus cypriacus ) is a species of rodent (Rodentia) described in 2004 by the French zoologist Thomas Cucchi that is endemic to Cyprus .

The exclusive features over other types of mice are the larger skull with larger ears, teeth and eyes. The fur is gray in color. The DNA of the Cyprus mouse also differs from the DNA of the other mice.

By comparing bones, Cucchi was able to prove that the mouse has lived on Cyprus for 9,000 years, and thus a few thousand years before human settlement in the Neolithic (New Stone Age). As the only endemic rodent of the Mediterranean islands, it has survived the arrival of humans and the alien animals they brought with them.

The preferred habitat of the Cyprus mouse is the Troodos Mountains in the west of the island, especially in the vineyards.

The discovery of a mammal in an area believed to be well explored came as a surprise to the research. As the last mammal in Europe to date, a bat species was found in Greece and Hungary in 2001.

In September 2006, Cucchi reported on his discovery in the specialist magazine Zootaxa .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cucchi, T., Orth, A., Auffray, J.-C., Renaud, S., Fabre, L., Catalan, J., Hadjisterkotis, E., Bonhomme, F. & Vigne, J.-D . 2006. A new endemic species of the subgenus Mus (Rodentia, Mammalia) on the Island of Cyprus. Zootaxa 1241: 1-36.

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