Giant hutia
Encyclopedia
The giant hutias are an extinct group of large rodent
s known from fossil
and subfossil
material in the West Indies. One species, Amblyrhiza inundata, is estimated to have weighed between 50 kilogram, big specimens being as large as an American Black Bear
. This is much larger than Capybara
, the largest rodent living today, but still much smaller than Josephoartigasia monesi
, the largest rodent known. These animals may have persisted into historic times and were probably used as a food source by aboriginal humans. All giant hutias are in a single family Heptaxodontidae, which contains no living species; this grouping seems to be paraphyletic and artificial however.
One small species, Quemisia, may have survived as late as the days when the Spanish were beginning to conquer North America.
Some of their smaller relatives from the family Capromyidae, known as hutia
s, survive in the Caribbean Islands.
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s known from fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
and subfossil
Subfossil
Subfossil refers to remains whose fossilization process is not complete, either for lack of time or because the conditions in which they were buried were not optimal for fossilization....
material in the West Indies. One species, Amblyrhiza inundata, is estimated to have weighed between 50 kilogram, big specimens being as large as an American Black Bear
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
. This is much larger than Capybara
Capybara
The capybara , also known as capivara in Portuguese, and capibara, chigüire in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador ronsoco in Peru, chigüiro, and carpincho in Spanish, is the largest living rodent in the world. Its closest relatives are agouti, chinchillas, coyphillas, and guinea pigs...
, the largest rodent living today, but still much smaller than Josephoartigasia monesi
Josephoartigasia monesi
Josephoartigasia monesi, an extinct species of South American caviomorph rodent, is the largest rodent known, and lived approximately 4 to 2 million years ago during the Pliocene to early Pleistocene. The species may have weighed , considerably larger than its closest living relative, the pacarana...
, the largest rodent known. These animals may have persisted into historic times and were probably used as a food source by aboriginal humans. All giant hutias are in a single family Heptaxodontidae, which contains no living species; this grouping seems to be paraphyletic and artificial however.
One small species, Quemisia, may have survived as late as the days when the Spanish were beginning to conquer North America.
Some of their smaller relatives from the family Capromyidae, known as hutia
Hutia
Hutias are moderately large cavy-like rodents of the family Capromyidae that inhabit the Caribbean Islands. They range in size from , and can weigh up to . Twenty species of hutia have been identified, and half may be extinct. They resemble the nutria in some respects...
s, survive in the Caribbean Islands.
Taxonomy
The giant hutias are divided into two subfamilies, five genera, and six species.- Family Heptaxodontidae
- Subfamily Heptaxodontinae
- Genus Amblyrhiza
- Amblyrhiza inundata from AnguillaAnguillaAnguilla is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin...
and St. Martin
- Amblyrhiza inundata from Anguilla
- Genus Elasmodontomys
- Elasmodontomys obliquus from Puerto RicoPuerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
- Elasmodontomys obliquus from Puerto Rico
- Genus Quemisia
- Quemisia gravis from HispaniolaHispaniolaHispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
- Quemisia gravis from Hispaniola
- Genus Xaymaca
- Xaymaca fulvopulvis from JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
- Xaymaca fulvopulvis from Jamaica
- Genus Amblyrhiza
- Subfamily Clidomyinae
- Genus Clidomys
- Clidomys osborni from JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
- Clidomys parvus from JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
- Clidomys osborni from Jamaica
- Genus Clidomys
- Subfamily Heptaxodontinae