# Mus minotaurus

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{{Short description|Extinct species of mouse}}
{{Speciesbox
| extinct = EX
| taxon = Mus minotaurus
| authority = [Bate](/source/Dorothea_Bate), 1942
}}
'''''Mus minotaurus''''' is an extinct species of mouse native to [Crete](/source/Crete) during the [Late Pleistocene](/source/Late_Pleistocene)-[Holocene](/source/Holocene). It descended from a ''[Mus musculus](/source/Mus_musculus)'' (house mouse)-like ancestor that arrived on Crete during the late [Middle Pleistocene](/source/Middle_Pleistocene), replacing ''[Kritimys](/source/Kritimys)'', a large rat-like rodent that inhabited Crete during the Early and Middle Pleistocene. ''[Kritimys](/source/Kritimys)'' and the ancestor of ''Mus minotaurus'', ''Mus bateae'' are found together in Stavrós Cave.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Lyras |first=George A. |chapter=The Fossil Record of Insular Endemic Mammals from Greece |date=2022 |title=Fossil Vertebrates of Greece |volume=2 |pages=661–701 |editor-last=Vlachos |editor-first=Evangelos |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-68442-6_25 |isbn=978-3-030-68441-9 |last2=Athanassiou |first2=Athanassios |last3=van der Geer |first3=Alexandra A. E.}}</ref> The ''Mus batae-minotaurus'' lineage shows a tendency to increase in size with time, an example of [island gigantism](/source/island_gigantism), with ''Mus minotaurus'' being one of the largest known members of the genus ''[Mus](/source/Mus_(genus)),'' with a body mass of approximately 54 grams,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=van den Hoek Ostende |first=Lars W. |last2=van der Geer |first2=Alexandra A.E. |last3=Wijngaarden |first3=Carlijne L. |date=2017-07-25 |title=Why are there no giants at the dwarves feet? Insular micromammals in the eastern Mediterranean |journal=Quaternary International |volume=445 |pages=269–278 |doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2016.05.007}}</ref> over 3 times the size of its mainland ancestor.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lomolino |first=Mark V. |last2=van der Geer |first2=Alexandra A. |last3=Lyras |first3=George A. |last4=Palombo |first4=Maria Rita |last5=Sax |first5=Dov F. |last6=Rozzi |first6=Roberto |date=August 2013 |editor-last=Triantis |editor-first=Kostas |title=Of mice and mammoths: generality and antiquity of the island rule |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jbi.12096 |journal=Journal of Biogeography |language=en |volume=40 |issue=8 |pages=1427–1439 |doi=10.1111/jbi.12096 |issn=0305-0270|url-access=subscription }}</ref> It was likely heavily predated upon by the extinct endemic [Cretan owl](/source/Cretan_owl), as evidenced by the abundance of its remains found in owl pellets.<ref>M. Pavia, C. Mourer-Chauviré [https://iris.unito.it/bitstream/2318/90610/1/14%20bis%20-%20Pavia%20%26%20Mourer-Chauvir%C3%A9%202002%20Athene%20trinacriae%20SAPE.pdf An overview of the Genus ''Athene'' in the Pleistocene of the Mediterranean Islands, with the Description of ''Athene trinacriae'' n.sp. (Aves: Strigidae)] Z. Zhou, F. Zhang (Eds.), Proceedings of the 5th Symposium of the Society of Avian Paleontology and Evolution, Beijing Science Press (2002), pp. 13-27</ref> It inhabited the island alongside a species of elephant (''[Palaeoloxodon creutzburgi](/source/Palaeoloxodon_creutzburgi)''), the radiation of endemic ''[Candiacervus](/source/Candiacervus)'' deer, the [Cretan otter](/source/Cretan_otter), and the [Cretan shrew](/source/Cretan_shrew) (which is still extant).<ref name=":0" /> ''Mus minotaurus'' became extinct sometime during the Holocene epoch, with its remains apparently being found in [Neolithic](/source/Neolithic) and early [Bronze Age](/source/Bronze_Age) sites on the island. Its extinction may have been due to competition with the closely related house mouse introduced to the island by humans during the early Bronze Age.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Papayiannis |first=Katerina |date=June 2012 |title=The micromammals of Minoan Crete: human intervention in the ecosystem of the island |journal=Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments |language=en |volume=92 |issue=2 |pages=239–248 |doi=10.1007/s12549-012-0081-9 |issn=1867-1594}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}
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Category:Prehistoric Crete
Category:Fossil taxa described in 1942
minotaurus

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mus minotaurus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus_minotaurus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus_minotaurus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.