Megalomys
Encyclopedia
Megalomys is a genus of rodent
in the family Cricetidae
, part of the tribe Oryzomyini
. The genus contains four large rodents from various Caribbean
islands, all of which are now extinct. The last species to survive was M. desmarestii from Martinique
, which went extinct after the Mount Pelée
eruption in 1902.
It contains the following species:
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....
in the family Cricetidae
Cricetidae
The Cricetidae are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes true hamsters, voles, lemmings, and New World rats and mice...
, part of the tribe Oryzomyini
Oryzomyini
Oryzomyini is a tribe of rodents in the subfamily Sigmodontinae of family Cricetidae. It includes about 120 species in about thirty genera, distributed from the eastern United States to the southernmost parts of South America, including many offshore islands...
. The genus contains four large rodents from various Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
islands, all of which are now extinct. The last species to survive was M. desmarestii from Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, which went extinct after the Mount Pelée
Mount Pelée
Mount Pelée is an active volcano at the northern end of the island and French overseas department of Martinique in the Lesser Antilles island arc of the Caribbean. Its volcanic cone is composed of layers of volcanic ash and hardened lava....
eruption in 1902.
It contains the following species:
- Megalomys audreyaeMegalomys audreyaeMegalomys audreyae, known as the Barbudan Muskrat or the Barbuda giant rice-rat, is an extinct oryzomyine rodent from Barbuda in the Lesser Antilles. Described on the basis of a single mandible with the first molar missing and an isolated upper incisor, both of uncertain but Quaternary age, it is...
(BarbudaBarbudaBarbuda is an island in the Eastern Caribbean, and forms part of the state of Antigua and Barbuda. It has a population of about 1,500, most of whom live in the town of Codrington.-Location:...
) - Megalomys curazensisMegalomys curazensisMegalomys curazensis is a species of rodent from the Pleistocene of the island of Curaçao, off northwestern Venezuela. It is a member of the genus Megalomys, which also includes species from other islands of the Lesser Antilles. It is known from abundant but fragmentary material found throughout...
(CuraçaoCuraçaoCuraçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
) - Megalomys desmarestii (MartiniqueMartiniqueMartinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
) - Megalomys luciae (Saint LuciaSaint LuciaSaint Lucia is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 620 km2 and has an...
)