The spiny mouse is an unassuming rodent, but it’s armed with a very special tail. CT scans show the tail is sheathed in a secret blanket of bony plates. Before the scans, only one other group of ...

Scientists have zeroed in on brain circuitry powering the desire of spiny mice to live in large groups, opening the door to a new model for the study of complex social behaviors in mammals. "To our ...

Mammals are a bit odd when it comes to bones. Rather than the bony plates and scales of crocodiles, turtles, lizards, dinosaurs and fish, mammals long ago traded in their ancestral suit of armor for a ...

Spiny mice in the genus Acomys look much like more familiar house mice in the genus Mus, although their coats do have stiff guard hairs that give them their name. But now, researchers reporting in the ...

Rachael has a degree in Zoology from the University of Southampton, and specializes in animal behavior, evolution, palaeontology, and the environment. Rachael has a degree in Zoology from the ...

Researchers just discovered that the spiny mouse was concealing bony plates beneath the skin over its tail. By Asher Elbein At first it looks like a slightly more hairy rodent. But the spiny mouse’s ...

Across the animal world, some species decline rapidly after reaching adulthood while others stay active and healthy for years ...