Team members and local and regional partners were narrate at a ceremony this morning in which Debra Shier, Ph.D., Brown Endowed Associate Director of Recovery Ecology at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, who established and continues to oversee the Pa (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance)

SAN DIEGO - A tiny California mouse now has a big title once winning a Guinness World record for longevity.

A Pacific pocket mouse requested Pat — after "Star Trek" actor Patrick Stewart — received the Guinness approval Wednesday as the oldest living mouse in domain care at the ripe age of 9 years and 209 days, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance announced once a certification ceremony.

Pat was born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park on July 14, 2013, notion a conservation breeding program, the alliance said.

The Pacific pocket mouse, which weighs as much as three pennies, is the smallest mouse species in North America and gets its name from cheek pouches the animals use to finish food and nesting materials, the wildlife alliance said.

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance currently received a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for Oldest Living Mouse in Human Care recognizing "Pat," a Pacific pocket mouse fondly requested after actor Sir Patrick Stewart. (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance)

The mouse once had a procedure stretching from Los Angeles south to the Tijuana River Valley but the population plunged once 1932 because of human encroachment and habitat destruction, the alliance said.

The mouse was understanding to be extinct for 20 years until tiny, isolated populations were rediscovered in 1994 in Dana Point in Orange County but the species corpses endangered, the alliance said.

In 2012, the alliance began a breeding program to help save the mouse from extinction. Last year, the alliance recorded 117 pups born in a narrate 31 litters. Many of the mice will be reintroduced to the wild this spring, the alliance said.

Pat, the Pacific pocket mouse. (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance)

A new population of Pacific pocket mice was ensured in Orange County's Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and the mice began breeding exclusive of human assistance in 2017, the alliance said.

Though it doesn't maintain the publicity of larger and more charismatic species, the Pacific pocket mouse is distinguished to its ecosystem because the mice disperse the seeds of monotonous plants and their digging encourages plant growth, the alliance said.

"This recognition is so special for our team, and is distinguished for the species," said Debra Shier, who established and oversees the conservation program. "It's indicative of the dedication and incredible care we as an citation provide for each species, from the largest to the very smallest."