As their name indicates, Cretan Spiny Mice are native to Crete. The "Spiny" in their name comes from the stout,
inflexible guardhairs on their rump.
The Cretan has a slimmer, more pointed face and greyer fur than most of the several other spiny mice species.
However, some sources suggest it is a subspecies or variant of the more common Cairo or Egyptian Spiny Mice.
Like other Spiny Mice, they are thought to be related to gerbils rather than mice.
They live in social groups. The mice usually have long tails but these shown seem to have met the farmer's wife.
The tails of spiny mice are known to be fragile; it is even suggested that the tails break in a similar way to some lizards as a
defence against predators. Two of the species of spiny mice are said to be able to regenerate lost tails like lizards.