Spiny Mice Have Bones in Their Skin

In the evolutionary arms race between predator and prey, mammals have mostly gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to body armor.
There are, of course, a few exceptions to this rule... And that makes these super-healing spiny mice super weird mammals.
Get your Bizarre Beasts calendar here: store.dftba.com/collections/b...
Subscribe to the pin club here: store.dftba.com/collections/b...
This month's pin is designed by Dominique Ramsey. You can find out more about them and their work here: www.dominiqueramsey.com/
You can cancel any time by emailing [e-mail]
Follow us on socials:
Twitter: / bizarrebeasts
Instagram: / bizarrebeastsshow
Facebook: / bizarrebeastsshow
#BizarreBeasts #spinymice #rodents
-----
Sources:
www.cell.com/iscience/fulltex...
animaldiversity.org/accounts/...
www.iucnredlist.org/species/2...
www.researchgate.net/publicat...
www.bio.fsu.edu/~steppanlab/a...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NB...
www.jstor.org/stable/1564085
www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/sci...
www.cambridge.org/core/journa...
------
Images:
Thumbnail: Edward L. Stanley, PhD
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/p...
sketchfab.com/3d-models/acomy...
/ 834387378253000704
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
www.cell.com/iscience/fulltex...
www.flickr.com/photos/2760375...
www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/sci...
www.gettyimages.ca/detail/109...
www.gettyimages.ca/detail/118...
www.gettyimages.ca/detail/170...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/10...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/10...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/10...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/10...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/11...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/11...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/11...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/11...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/11...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/12...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/12...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/12...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/12...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/12...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/13...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/13...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/13...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/13...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/13...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/14...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/14...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/14...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/14...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/14...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/15...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/16...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/47...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/47...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/48...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/59...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/69...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/86...
www.gettyimages.com/detail/vi...
www.inaturalist.org/observati...
www.inaturalist.org/observati...
www.pond5.com/stock-footage/i...
www.pond5.com/stock-footage/i...
www.pond5.com/stock-footage/i...
www.pond5.com/stock-footage/i...
• Acomys russatus collec...
• Cut and carry
• Juvenile Acomys russat...

[@ebonyblack4563]

Spiney mice to the tail dropping lizards: "Can we copy your homework?" "Yeah, just change it up a little."

[@blobfishthedevourer3735]

They basically reinvented the tail-losing ability of most lizards, though in this case it’s more like tail-loosening. Quite wierd

[@OBIIIIIIIII]

I’ve worked with Turkish spiny mice. They’re data deficient so we don’t know if they’re extinct in the wild (the earthquake will not have helped them) or if they’re their own species, or a subspecies of the Asia Minor spiny mouse. Certainly one to watch for future research

[@Eisenwulf666]

i was wondering, because them being african made me immediately think of afrotheria. Yet here they show them belonging in the muridae. So they probably came to Africa at a later time. Very interesting little critters

[@KabuMontasaurios]

You are awesome! :)

[@OBIIIIIIIII]

@@Eisenwulf666 yes they are muridae

[@tomholroyd7519]

when the show started I was like "not unless their bones stick out of their skin!" and then later I was like whoa a mammal with osteoderms 🤯

[@deinsilverdrac8695]

Armadillo in the corner, with a judgmental look : Pathetic.

[@RiverWilliamson]

For real. Live osteoderm react

[@theshuman100]

​@@deinsilverdrac8695look how much they need to mimic just a fraction of our power

[@whywatt733]

Ground sloths had osteoderms as well. On the belly and flank.

[@Sinnistering]

Ohhhh, I'm so happy you're still doing regular episodes. I was worried with the remastering announcement these would go on hiatus. I just love Sarah's energy and funky style in these.

[@astick5249]

I still cant get over the fact that these mice literally give up their skin and grow it back like a lizard does its tail.

[@eRic-hr3yl]

When you talked about inner bone armor I thought the video was going to be about the armored or hero shrew, that *is* a true skeleton armor entirely made of actual inner bone.

[@weirdalexander8193]

I heard native people in their habitat balance on one foot on top of them, then step off so that it scampers away unaffected. Why? To let the tourists know that you don’t screw around in the African savanna, because what the heck did that bootleg mouse evolve to survive?

[@wxlurker]

That sounds fascinating I’m gonna have to google them

[@MikeAG333]

Unbelievable little creature, that can bear the weight of an adult (human) standing on it.

[@NewMessage]

Spiny mouse fashion is really on-point!

[@facelesscleric2744]

I used to have some pet gerbils, I had no idea they had such an interesting relative.

[@travvitz]

Im so excited to see an episode about spiny mice!! Part of my job is maintaining a research colony of spiny mice.

[@travvitz]

Another really interesting thing about spiny mice is that they have a long gestation for a rodent and give birth to precocial young!! They do most brain and organ development while still in utero, as opposed to mice and rats, which finish up brain and organ development after being born. Plus spiny mice menstruate!

[@Jibash]

Nothing goes better with Bizzare Beasts goofy music than easily teaeing skin Thinking of these poor guys makes me quiver

[@joshdoe7288]

I actually work with spiny mice daily for my career! They’re being used in biomed research

[@LimeyLassen]

Careful about the spines!

[@cuddlepaws4423]

I'm sure the mice feel VERY privileged being used as research subjects and furry test tubes.

[@travvitz]

I also work with spinies for research :)

[@telegramsam]

Being able to regrow nerves and their spinal cord and have them be functional is way more interesting than the tails imo. Imagine being able to reproduce that mechanism in people! Paralysis would be treatable.

[@victoriaeads6126]

Sarah, you've got BOTH a face for TV AND a voice for radio. I love how you've settled into hosting BB, and I look forward to more of this plus whatever else you end up doing on your journey. TY!

[@teawrecks1243]

0:59 "You thought it was an ordinary mouse, but it was me, DIO-myinae! WRYYYYY!"

[@PanikaMCD]

I had Egyptian spiny mice growing up and can confirm the degloving is weird. it happened most often before we knew we needed to add some meal worms to their diet. they’re on the monkey pox list now, but you can find some breeders in the US. they live quite a long time for mice, have litters of 1-2 pups, and bite very hard so kids won’t be tempted to take them out all the time which makes it less likely that you’ll have kids leaving their enclosures unsecured-though we did have a raccoon that wiped out a whole terrarium of females once and had to make them their own special enclosures which were even more secure than rocks on top of a terrarium. 10/10 would have them again if I didn’t have to have them sent by freight from Kansas to obtain them.

[@TedH71]

Apparently they're the food most highly preferred by ball pythons because they share the same habitat in Africa. If you have a baby ball python that is refusing to eat, often you can rub a thawed dead spiny mouse on a regular mouse item, the baby will take it more readily.

[@PanikaMCD]

@@TedH71 makes sense, but it also makes me sad since spiny mice tend to have some personality.

[@Junketh71]

Maybe you can discuss African flying squirrels next? They got scales on the bottoms of their tails.

[@tylerhloewen]

How did they not mention armadillos when listing armored mammals? I thought those were the most iconic armored mammals. Definitely the first thing that came to my mind.

[@victoriaeads6126]

I already ordered a banner last month, hoping it arrives with my adorable spiny mouse pin!! Glad to see Sarah. I'm thrilled to see the OG vlogbrothers episodes remastered, but I also love your regular content. It wasn't clear whether they would run concurrently. I just discovered BB in the summer, so I was also excited at the chance to purchase some of the original pins!

[@feedmewifi_477]

i did research on spiny mice, studying their neuroregenerative ability and also working on a complete reference genome for use in studying their transcriptome

[@winterwatson6811]

psa: don’t search for degloving images

[@paulkinzer7661]

I love the fun music played in the background as you describe these cute but very strange critters!

[@albertonykus]

Great spotlight on these critters! Check out the maned rat (Lophiomys imhausi) for another bizarrely defended (and secretly armored!) rodent.

[@LordBrittish]

Here I come to save the daaay! Spiny Mouse is on his waaaaay!

[@astick5249]

the only reason i know this is because my dad occasionally chants this

[@skyem5250]

Mouseteoderms

[@CasaVipera]

I worked with Sinai spiny mice (A. dimitiatus) they are hella resistant to snakevenom!

[@cyrilio]

Love the pin display banner merch. Made something similar myself for the pins I have but if I hadn't I'd definitely consider getting one from Bizar Beasts.

[@davidbarkin8269]

Grey Squirrels, while they lack ostoderms CAN give up their tails to twart predators and the tails grow back... 🙂

[@matthewharris-levesque5809]

Unfortunately, degloving is not unique to Acomys. I once had a roommate who's rat did this. It happens in other rodents too. Spiny mice were popular in the pet trade in my area about 20 years ago; they made for decent pocket pets.

[@mecahhannah]

Awesome as always thanks

[@evilsharkey8954]

I’m aware that gerbils can deglove their tails, too. I learned that the creepy hard way.

[@mikehammerbach9413]

I had an Egyptian spiny mouse that the pet store gave me cause she was missing most of her tail. She was the sweetest little critter. I miss you, Bodhi, wherever you are ❤

[@aquasaurusrex2509]

Clints worst nightmare- a mammal that can drop its tail

[@takenname8053]

Didn't know I was going to learn about the convergent evolution of tear away tails between lizards and mice!

[@thatcorpse]

degloving is usually reference to the skin on your hand. Do not Google during a meal.

[@jenniferstrover1276]

Super healing, armoured bones... this is the Wolverine mouse

[@destiny5544]

I had a family of them when I was a kid. I loved them so much. The spines didn't stop my mom's cat 😢

[@user-md7io4tk1r]

Pins of spiny mice be like:

[@bbbenj]

Such adorable creatures!

[@evanl6819]

clan moulder really outdid themselves this time

[@PokeMasrerJ]

Want to make sure I have all this right. For one, they have some tough bones in their tails, that makes it hard to get through, and they have almost a "second skin" on their tails that can come off?

[@melodyszadkowski5256]

I cannot WAIT to get this pin! I will have to find a better display location than my backpack for this one.

[@Sazoji]

yea but do the other spiny mice that can't deglove also have dermal bones?

[@kolt9051]

how fun. thanks!

[@MrDaftFunk]

Intelligent and has great personalities!

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

And here I was hoping they had some armor hidden up around their torso. 😂 Dang it! Quite a fascinating little critter, though! If we can figure out how they heal so well, imagine what we could do! I'm mainly thinking of those with spinal cord injuries, but I can see it helping everyone from burn victims to those who had necrotising fascitis (sp?), or any kind of serious skin injury or disease.

[@oopsy444]

I read the title as spicy mice and was genuinely curious what made them spicy

[@user-xj8wy4uu1q]

Why do they need osteoderms if they chew up their tail anyways?

[@jademcgill7135]

Do degus’ also have this?

[@bowen13]

Thought this was gonna be the hero shrew, but still cool!

[@quinn_griffin]

I recently learned about the African Crested Rat, another rodent with an interesting defensive adaptation.

[@solsoman102]

i love your hair!

[@camerongrow6426]

This thing keeps sounding more and more like a Pokemon

[@NoahSpurrier]

Gerbils seemed to have solved the same problem by having short tails. Hamsters, too.

[@napoleonfeanor]

Humans,too ;)

[@billorarson-andersson497]

Giant sloths had osteoderms throughout their bodies

[@Kazzzack]

Thank you for not showing the degloved tails lol

[@WedgyBlue]

electric, rock, or steel type?

[@m.nic.5080]

Had two of these as pets for a few years. They’re weird little critters and nothing like regular mice, rats, or hamsters. IIRC importing them into the USA was banned in 2020 so I don’t think any more are in the pet trade here anymore but they were great while they lasted.

[@sainjawoof3506]

Woohoo a RODENT🐭, and from Africa 🌍, two of my loves represented this month! Edit: their tearaway skin reminds me of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome

[@anaconda6016]

BONE MICE

[@robertmcauslan6191]

These were my absolute favorite rodent to work with. I think they make great pets, compared to hamsters and other mice. They are born semi precocious, like guinea pigs. I dis find that I get species aggression was usually taken out on the tails.

[@MariaMartinez-researcher]

(Gotta love scientists committed enough to study mice tails 🐀)

[@doogandoggin2571]

Did she just suggest putting a new pin in a spiny mousr?

[@dracodracarys2339]

Discount armadillo.

[@gavinlee4537]

I’m just here for my recommended.

[@isacyuh]

why did I read it" Spicy" not SPINY 😂

[@fernandoflores3161]

And what about armadillos?

[@Maykil107]

regular mice are awesome

[@Vocalinds]

I love your videos, but I wonder if you could turn down the background music a bit? I absolutely cannot concentrate on what you're saying becaise the music is too loud!

[@greensteve9307]

No mention of echidnas? Disappointed!

[@windlessoriginals1150]

🐭

[@markrix]

Mz host is easy on the eyes 🙂 Is her hair starting to preform photosynthesis?

[@ArtisticNightmares]

The mild awkwardness, the animal logic or somebody did this video yesterday

[@Eisenwulf666]

"Amniotes, the group that includes all reptiles, mammals and birds". Birds are reptiles. At least phylogenetically. Anyway, i get it, the video has to be easy to understand for a large audience, so why not..

[@mayaenglish5424]

And if we get pedantic enough, people are fish, so... yanno, we have to cut it off somewhere.

[@therongjr]

I was not expecting evulsion in this video 🤮

[@Lenny-by8qs]

First

[@theobserver9131]

Aww. So cute.

[@toddhollen]

Until John and Hank condemn the genocide by Israel against thee Palestinians and call for at least a ceasefire, I can't support this channel anymore. It's really disgusting that people are silent or even justifying the extermination of millions of people.

[@thecannonball34]

That is so hilariously beyond the scope of this channel.

[@markrix]

Very true. Regardless, war no good.

[@mayaenglish5424]

Yeah, because they are all powerful and can command the leaders of foreign countries to stop being terrible. Clearly it's all their fault! 🙄 look, what's happening is horrible, but harrassing people online about it helps precisely nothing. It's also extremely entitled and hypocritical, this is the tragety you give a particular crap about, you aren't shouting about the 5,000 other monstrous things happening in the world, including other genocides, does it make you a bad person for not speaking about them? (of course not, no one can be involved with everything).

[@dracodracarys2339]

Discount armadillo.

[@dracodracarys2339]

Discount armadillo.