The Hispaniolan edible rat (''Brotomys voratus'') is a recently extinct species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

in the family Echimyidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Brotomys''. It was

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, in what is today the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

and

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

was subtropical or tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Description

''Brotomys'' was described by American

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. (December 6, 1869 – February 24, 1956), was an American zoologist and botanist. He was born in Peterboro, New York, in 1869. His great-grandfather was Gerrit Smith, the wealthy abolitionist, businessman, and politic ...

in the early 20th century from remains found in archaeological

midden A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofact ...

s of Hispaniola. Miller also identified it with the "mohuy", an animal mentioned by the 16th-century Spanish historiographer and colonial

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

, Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, in his ''General and Natural History of the Indies'' (1535): The erect hair is typical of the Echyimidae, which are called "spiny rats" because of it. The mentioned "hutia" could be the likewise extinct genera '' Quemisia'' or ''

Isolobodon ''Isolobodon'' is an extinct genus of rodent in the subfamily Capromyinae Hutias (known in Spanish as jutía) are moderately large cavy-like rodents of the subfamily Capromyinae that inhabit the Caribbean islands, with most species restricted ...

'', both of greater size than ''Brotomys''. Despite its highly sought meat, the species is thought to have been primarily driven to extinction by introduced

Old World rats The Old World rats and mice, part of the subfamily Murinae in the family Muridae, comprise at least 519 species. Members of this subfamily are called murines. In terms of species richness, this subfamily is larger than all mammal families excep ...

rather than human hunting. A

mandible In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower tooth, teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movabl ...

of ''Brotomys'' was carbon dated to 340 ± 60 years BP (1550-1670 AD), showing it survived the initial Spanish conquest of Hispaniola.

References

Brotomys Rodent extinctions since 1500 Mammals described in 1916 Taxa named by Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. Mammals of Hispaniola Extinct animals of the Dominican Republic Mammals of the Caribbean Mammals of the Dominican Republic Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Echimyidae-stub