The Cape spiny mouse is a small rodent from South Africa. Instead of soft fur on its back, it has stiff needle-like hairs that protect it from predators.
The Cape spiny mouse has stiff spines on its back that help protect it from snakes and birds. It is important for nature because it disperses plant seeds and serves as prey for many predators.
homogamy, reproduction always with fertilization, no alternation of generations
Whiskers count
Worker
Tail size
birth time
breeding
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
adult
Maturity
24 to 38 grams, 10 – 25 centimeters
insects
About health
Searches for food on or among rocks and stony surfaces.
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
summer warm and almost no rain
land coast flooded by tides — salt marshes, littoral zone
Eyes count
summer warm, winter not very cold
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
hot, rains in summer, little precipitation in winter
Uses an excavated underground tunnel or chamber for refuge or nesting.
conifer cones
little precipitation in winter, more in summer
Trophic type
Filters
Tail count
leaves
Upcoming birthdays
eggs, roe or offspring develop in a nest built on the ground or close to it
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
leaf
in a burrow
young are born live on land, not hatched from eggs or roe
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
cones of coniferous trees with seeds
rock
Hot, little precipitation in winter
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
Food items are collected from exposed outer surfaces of substrates.
world of Australasia
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
fruits
Lifespan average
in a terrestrial nest
leaves
Whiskers size
Regeneration
live birth
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
seeds
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
nest hidden in an underground burrow
Pets
Primary oral structure used to seize, manipulate, or ingest food.
Spines color
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
{name} jubilee
Eyes size
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
mouth
desert and semi-desert
turns
Rascals
terrestrial forest
terrestrial intertidal
Tail color
Flooded grasslands
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Where are they found?
Whiskers color
Summer almost without rain
Low precipitation in winter
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
normal sexual
Taxons
seeds, berries, fruits
almost no rain in summer, more precipitation in winter
if born as {name}
omnivore
age
birth date
arid terrestrial biotopes with sparse vegetation
rest
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
nocturnal
The basics
climbing
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
surface
forages for food on the soil surface and among rocks
primary food sources
burrow
Potential Habitat
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Mass
young shoots and leaves of plants
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
Plants
Gestation
islands and part of Australia, many unusual animals and plants
land
{name} birthday
Spines size
Food is gathered directly from leaf surfaces.
Always hot
No results found
Eyes color
On the map
Pleasant summer
all life stages
Female ♀
world of Afrotropics
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Shelter used specifically for reproduction or nesting.
Maturity
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
comfortable summer, +20…+25 °C
protection from sun
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
baby / chick
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Neither
Moving up vertical surfaces like trunks or rocks to reach food.
from birth to adulthood
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
forests on land — tropical, temperate, boreal
water often floods the land, lots of grass
world of Afrotropics
Temperate mixed forest
Duration
live insects
This is me
Warm summer with almost no rain
Foraging activity occurs primarily during nighttime hours.
Gamers
How are they built?
Spines count
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
terrestrial
Asexual
swap
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
inhabit and develop on land, outside water bodies
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
very hot all year round, frequent rains, but sometimes dry
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
foraging
Hermaphrodite ⚥
Tomato
embryo
summer warm, many oaks, birches, maples
Length
kg
Observations
◉{N} more on tap