SAN DIEGO (AP) — A tiny California mouse now has a big title after winning the Guinness World Record for longest lifespan.

A Pacific pocket mouse named Pat — after “Star Trek” actor Patrick Stewart — was recognized Wednesday by Guinness as the oldest living mouse in human care at age 9 years and 209 days, according to the San Diego Zoo’s Wildlife Alliance announced after the certification ceremony.

Pat was born at the San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park on July 14, 2013, as part of the conservation breeding program, the alliance said.

Weighing as little as three pennies, the Pacific pocket mouse is the smallest mouse species in North America and gets its name from the cheek pouches the animals use to carry food and nesting materials, according to the Wildlife Conservation Alliance.

The mouse’s range once stretched from Los Angeles south to the Tijuana River Valley, but after 1932 the population declined due to human encroachment and habitat destruction, the alliance said.

The mice were thought to be extinct for 20 years until tiny isolated populations were rediscovered at Dana Point in Orange County in 1994, but the species remains endangered, according to the alliance.

In 2012, the alliance began a breeding program to help save the mice from extinction. Last year, the alliance recorded 117 cubs born in a record 31 litters. Many of the mice will be released back into the wild this spring, the alliance said.

A new population of Pacific pocket mice was established at Orange County’s Laguna Coast Wildlife Park, and the mice began reproducing without human assistance in 2017, the alliance said.

Although the Pacific pocket mouse does not enjoy the publicity of larger and more charismatic species, the Pacific pocket mouse is very important to its ecosystem because the mice disperse the seeds of native plants and their digging promotes plant growth, the alliance notes.

“This recognition is special for our team and important for the species,” said Debra Shier, who created and oversees the conservation program. “It shows the dedication and incredible care we as an organization give to every species, from the biggest to the smallest.”