Cape Spiny Mouse

Cape Spiny Mouse is a rodent found in South Africa. The Cape Spiny Mouse has large eyes, a grey-brown colouration and a white underbelly. This species is largely endemic to the Western Cape Province of South Africa; its range just extends into the Eastern and Northern Cape Provinces. The extent of occurrence is greater than 20,000 km², and can occur up to about 1,000m above sea level. Cape spiny mice may live singly or in small groups. They feed almost exclusively on seeds, especially ant dispersed seeds of Restionaceae and Proteaceae with elaiosomes. The remainder of the diet consists of green plant material and insects, millipedes, and snails. In addition, the cape spiny mouse feed extensively on P. humiflora flower. Rather than having one set breeding season, cape spiny mice are opportunistic breeders, only reproducing when they have sufficient food sources.[2] They produce litters of 2-5 pups. Cape spiny mouse. contributes significantly. to the pollination of P. humiflora, and, in turn, gains the food resources that enable winter breeding. In addition to being a potential pollinator for a number of plant species, it also has a role in seed predation and hoarding in the fynbos, potentially contributing to the evolution of myrmecochory as a mechanism to evade rodent seed predation.