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The Tenerife giant rat (''Canariomys bravoi'') is an
Fossilized remains of this animal have been found practically in every part of the island, but especially in deposits in caves or volcanic pipes of the island, where it often appears together with remains of other species such as the giant lizards (''
This species was a big rat of about or more. It had a cranium that reached up to seven centimetres in length. Including the tail, the rat was over , making it the largest of its family (at least in the Canaries).
A scientific study published in 2012 compared the ''Canariomys bravoi'' species to present-day arboreal rodents such as '' Phloeomys cumingi'', the giant rat of the island of
/ref> The study revealed that among the distinctive features of ''C. bravoi'' are claws that develop almost similarly in the anterior and posterior limbs. Also the hind legs longer than the front ones evoke an intermediate form between rats and arboreal murals like ''Phloeomys''. ''Canariomys bravoi'' was a strong and powerfully muscled rodent able to move on different substrates from the ground to the trees, and probably had digging skills.
extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
species of rodent endemic to the island of Tenerife
Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the Archipelago, archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitant ...
, the largest of the Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, :es:Canarias, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to ...
, Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
. Many remains have been found during archeological digs. Most remains are from the 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 ...
. Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon.
The method was de ...
has placed some of the finds in the late Pleistocene..
Discovery
Fossilized remains of this animal have been found practically in every part of the island, but especially in deposits in caves or volcanic pipes of the island, where it often appears together with remains of other species such as the giant lizards (''Gallotia goliath
''Gallotia goliath'' (the Tenerife giant lizard or goliath Tenerife lizard) is an extinct giant lizard species from the island of Tenerife of the Canary Islands, Spain. This reptile lived before the arrival of humans and is believed to have gr ...
''). In particular, its bony remains have been discovered in large amounts in the deposit of Buenavista del Norte
Buenavista del Norte is a municipality and town on the north west coast of Tenerife, located on route TF42, about 75 km west of the capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 65 km from Tenerife North Airport and 66 km from Tenerife South Air ...
(in the northwest of Tenerife).
Their fossils date back to the Pleistocene epoch. The first fossils were found by the naturalist Telesforo Bravo, from whom the name of the rodent is derived. Biologists Crusafont-Pairó and Petter first described the giant rat in 1964.
The giant rat, along with some other endemic species of the islands, became extinct due to the activities of the initial human colonists, the Guanches
The Guanches were the indigenous inhabitants of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean some west of Africa.
It is believed that they may have arrived on the archipelago some time in the first millennium BCE. The Guanches were the only nativ ...
, who arrived around 1000 BC, including their introduction of feral cat
A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (''Felis catus'') that lives outdoors and avoids human contact: it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens ...
s.
Today, the Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre Museo may refer to:
* Museo, 2018 Mexican drama heist film
* Museo (Naples Metro), station on line 1 of the Naples Metro
* Museo, Seville, neighborhood of Seville, Spain
{{disambiguation ...
in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz (), is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and capital of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz has a population of 206,593 (2013) within its ad ...
exhibits fossil skulls and bones of this animal, as well as faithful reconstructions. Another giant rat of the Canary Islands was ''Canariomys tamarani
The Gran Canaria giant rat (''Canariomys tamarani'') is an extinct species of rat endemic to the island of Gran Canaria ( Canary Islands, Spain).
This rodent is known from Holocene to pre-Hispanic fossil remains found at several places on the i ...
''.
Description
This species was a big rat of about or more. It had a cranium that reached up to seven centimetres in length. Including the tail, the rat was over , making it the largest of its family (at least in the Canaries).
A scientific study published in 2012 compared the ''Canariomys bravoi'' species to present-day arboreal rodents such as '' Phloeomys cumingi'', the giant rat of the island of Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
in the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.Body shape and life style of the extinct rodent Canariomys bravoi (Mammalia, Murinae) from Tenerife, Canary Islands (Spain)/ref> The study revealed that among the distinctive features of ''C. bravoi'' are claws that develop almost similarly in the anterior and posterior limbs. Also the hind legs longer than the front ones evoke an intermediate form between rats and arboreal murals like ''Phloeomys''. ''Canariomys bravoi'' was a strong and powerfully muscled rodent able to move on different substrates from the ground to the trees, and probably had digging skills.
See also
* List of African animals extinct in the Holocene * List of extinct animals of Europe *Island gigantism
Island gigantism, or insular gigantism, is a biological phenomenon in which the size of an animal species isolated on an island increases dramatically in comparison to its mainland relatives. Island gigantism is one aspect of the more general Fos ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2700527 Mammals of the Canary Islands Canariomys Pleistocene rodents Prehistoric murids Extinct mammals of Africa Holocene extinctions Mammals described in 1964