Amami spiny rat
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The Amami spiny rat leaps into the air to dodge attacks when it encounters a habu snake.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Amami spiny rat
- Scientific name
- Tokudaia osimensis
- Japanese name
- アマミトゲネズミ
- Group
- Land mammals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Muridae
- Genus
- Tokudaia
By day it rests in a nest, for example at the foot of a tree; at night it moves about and eats nuts and insects.
Basic data
- Size
- Head and body length: 8–15 cm
- Diet
- Nuts, insects, and other foods
- Range
- Amami Oshima, Japan
- Conservation status in Japan
- Endangered (EN)Ministry of the Environment of Japan, Red List 2020
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- アマミトゲネズミ
- 简体中文
- 奄美裔鼠
- 繁體中文
- 奄美裔鼠
- 한국어
- 류큐가시쥐
- Deutsch
- Ryukyu-Stachelratte
- Italiano
- Ratto spinoso delle Isole Ryūkyū
- العربية
- جرذ ريوكيو الشوكي
- Русский
- Рюкийская мышь
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 井の頭自然文化園 — アマミトゲネズミChecked: 2026-11-03
- Ministry of the Environment of Japan, Red List 2020Checked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
The conservation status in Japan is the category in the Red Lists of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, which assess the risk of extinction for wild animals in Japan.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Amami spiny rat, look for this
- Look for the way it moves with its feet together in a hopping gait.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
井の頭自然文化園EXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Amami spiny rat
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Kanto
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
RELATIVES
Others in Muridae
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