San Diego, California - A Pacific pocket mouse at the San Diego Zoo has been honored with a Guinness World Record. At nine years and 209 days old, this animal is officially the "Oldest Living Mouse in Human Care."

Pat the Pacific pocket mouse, named after actor Sir Patrick Stewart, was officially named the holder of a new animal world record on Wednesday.

He was born July 14, 2013, per the zoo's press release, at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, in the first year of the organization’s Pacific pocket mouse conservation breeding and reintroduction program. Pacific pocket mice, the smallest mouse species in North America, are endangered.

The zoo celebrated the record win with a small ceremony. Dr. Debra Shier, associate director of recovery ecology at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and creator of the breeding program, accepted the Guinness plaque on Pat's behalf.

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Shier said the recognition is a big win for her team, the breeding program, and a "species that people don’t know much about because they’re not charismatic megafauna, but are just as critical for ecosystem function."

According to the zoo, Pacific pocket mice "play a crucial role in their ecosystems by dispersing the seeds of native plants and encouraging plant growth through their digging activities."

Though it is indeed tiny, the pocket mouse doesn't a get its name from its diminutive size.

"They get their name from pouches in their cheeks used to carry food and nesting materials," according to the San Diego Zoo.