Desmarest's hutia or the Cuban hutia (''Capromys pilorides'') is a stout, furry, rat-like mammal found only on

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and nearby islands. Growing to about 60 cm (2 ft), it normally lives in pairs and feeds on leaves, fruit, bark and sometimes small animals. It is the largest living

hutia 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 to Cuba and Hispaniola. Twenty species of hutia have been identified, but at ...

(subfamily Capromyinae), a group of rodents native to the Caribbean that are mostly endangered or extinct. Desmarest's hutia remains widespread throughout its range, though one subspecies (''C. p. lewisi'') native to the nearby

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

went extinct shortly after European colonization in the 1500s.

Description

The Desmarest's hutia has a head-and-body length of , a tail that is long, and weigh .Nowak, R. M. (1999). Walker's Mammals of the World. Vol. 2. 6th edition. p. 1706. It has thick, coarse

fur Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

which extends to the tip of the tail. The colour of the body fur varies from black to brown, with a light sand colour and red also seen. The body is stocky and the legs short. It moves with a slow, waddling gait, but can perform a quick hop when pursued. The feet have five toes with large claws which assist the animal in climbing. The

stomach The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach i ...

is divided into three compartments by constrictions in the gut and is among the most complex of any

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 ...

. Its karyotype has 2n = 40 and FN = 64.

Habitat and distribution

The Desmarest's hutia is found in a wide range of habitats. In northern Cuba, populations tend to be centred on areas where there are abundant

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

s, while southern populations tend to favour a more terrestrial habitat. They are abundant in

Guantánamo Province Guantánamo is the easternmost province of Cuba. Its capital is also called Guantánamo. Other towns include Baracoa. The province has the only land border of the U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay. Overview Guantánamo's architecture and cultu ...

, particularly around the

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Guantanamo Bay Naval Base ( es, Base Naval de la Bahía de Guantánamo), officially known as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay or NSGB, (also called GTMO, pronounced Gitmo as jargon by members of the U.S. military) is a United States military bas ...

. In the mountainous areas of eastern Cuba, numbers of Desmarest's hutia are decreasing. Demarest's hutia2

The Desmarest's hutia is found only in Cuba, but is widespread throughout its range. They are found on the main island, Isla de la Juventud, the Sabana archipelago, the Doce Laqunas archipelago and many of the other islands and cays of the Cuban archipelago. An extinct subspecies, ''C. p. lewisi'', formerly lived in the Cayman Islands before it was wiped out shortly after European colonization. This subspecies may have been the subject of a report by Francis Drake when he visited the islands, in which he spoke of "little beast-like cats" and "coneys" throughout the area.

Behaviour and reproduction

Desmarest's hutias normally live in pairs, but can be found individually or in small groups. They are diurnal and do not burrow, so during the night they rest in hollows in rocks or trees. They are

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

but eat mostly bark, leaves and fruit. Occasionally they will take small

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

s such as

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

s. Both males and females

scent mark In ethology, territory is the sociographical area that an animal consistently defends against conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against animals of other species) using agonistic behaviors or (less commonly) real physical aggression. A ...

their

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

with

urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and in many other animals. Urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder. Urination results in urine being excreted from the body through the urethra. Cellular ...

. They breed throughout the year with a

gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregna ...

period of between 110 and 140 days (normally around 120 to 126 days), although peak breeding season is in June/July. They normally produce between one and three young, weighing an average of 230 g (8 oz). The young are

precocial In biology, altricial species are those in which the young are underdeveloped at the time of birth, but with the aid of their parents mature after birth. Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the mome ...

, with fur, fully open eyes and the ability to walk. They are weaned at around five months and reach sexual maturity at around ten months. In captivity they live for eight to eleven years.

Interaction with humans

Hutias were traditionally hunted for food in Cuba as their flesh was agreeable and their size meant they provided a substantial meal. The Wild Animals Protection Act of 1968 made it illegal to hunt or kill hutias without a permit from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. In some areas they are so abundant that they cause damage to crops and are viewed as a pest.

Taxonomy

The genus name ''Capromys'' derives from the two

ancient greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

words (), meaning "pig, boar", and (), meaning "mouse, rat". First described by

Pallas Pallas may refer to: Astronomy * 2 Pallas asteroid ** Pallas family, a group of asteroids that includes 2 Pallas * Pallas (crater), a crater on Earth's moon Mythology * Pallas (Giant), a son of Uranus and Gaia, killed and flayed by Athena * Pa ...

in 1788 as ''Mys pilorides'', it was later noted that Desmarest's hutia did not belong in that genus, and it was placed in the genus ''Capromys'' by

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

in 1935. Five extant subspecies are recorded: ''ciprianoi'', ''doceleguas'', ''gundlachianus'', ''pilorides'', and ''relictus''. Studies have so far shown no genetic differences between the two subspecies ''ciprianoi'' and ''relictus'' found on Isla de la Juventud, but a 5% sequence deviation by ''gundlachianus'' found on Cayo Fragaso. The common name, Desmarest's hutia, is for Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest who described the species in 1822 with the synonym ''fourniere''. The extinct subspecies ''C. p. lewisi'' from the Cayman Islands is known from abundant subfossil material. It is close to the common Cuban ''Capromys pilorides'', but smaller. The earliest

radiocarbon Carbon-14, C-14, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and c ...

records are latest

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

and the latest are from around 1600 CE.

Phylogeny

Within Capromyidae, the closest relatives of ''Capromys'' are the genera ''Mesocapromys'' and ''Mysateles''. The three genera are the sister group to ''Geocapromys'', and these 4 taxa belong to the tribe Capromyini. In turn, this clade is the sister group to ''Plagiodontia''.