Heptaxodontidae, rarely called giant hutia, is an

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 ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

of large

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 ...

s known from

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

and

subfossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...

material found in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. One species, ''

Amblyrhiza inundata The blunt-toothed giant hutia (''Amblyrhiza inundata'') is an extinct species of giant hutia from Anguilla and Saint Martin that is estimated to have weighed between 50 and 200 kg (110 and 440 lb). It was discovered by Edward Drinker C ...

'', is estimated to have weighed between , reaching the weight of an

eastern gorilla The eastern gorilla (''Gorilla beringei'') is a critically endangered species of the genus ''Gorilla'' and the largest living primate. At present, the species is subdivided into two subspecies. There are 3,800 eastern lowland gorillas or Graue ...

. This is twice as large as the

capybara The capybaraAlso called capivara (in Brazil), capiguara (in Bolivia), chigüire, chigüiro, or fercho (in Colombia and Venezuela), carpincho (in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and ronsoco (in Peru). or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydro ...

, the largest rodent living today, but still much smaller than ''

Josephoartigasia monesi ''Josephoartigasia'' is an extinct genus of enormous dinomyid rodent from the Early Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of Uruguay. The only living member of Dinomyidae is the pacarana. ''Josephoartigasia'' is named after Uruguayan national hero J ...

'', the largest rodent known. These animals were probably used as a food source by the pre-Columbian peoples of the Caribbean. Heptaxodontidae contains no living species and the grouping seems to be

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

and arbitrary, however. One of the smaller species, ''

Quemisia gravis The twisted-toothed mouse (''Quemisia gravis''), also known as the twisted-toothed giant hutia is an extinct species of rodent in the family Heptaxodontidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Quemisia''. It was endemic to Hispaniola (today Hait ...

'', may have survived as late as when the Spanish began to colonize the Caribbean. Despite the vernacular name, heptaxodontids are not closely related to the extant

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 ...

s of the family

Echimyidae Echimyidae is the family of neotropical spiny rats and their fossil relatives. This is the most species-rich family of hystricognath rodents. It is probably also the most ecologically diverse, with members ranging from fully arboreal to terres ...

; Heptaxodontids are thought to be more closely related to the

chinchilla Chinchillas are either of two species (''Chinchilla chinchilla'' and ''Chinchilla lanigera'') of crepuscular rodents of the parvorder Caviomorpha. They are slightly larger and more robust than ground squirrels, and are native to the Andes mount ...

Taxonomy

Heptaxodontidae is divided into two subfamilies and contains six species in five genera. *Family Heptaxodontidae **Subfamily Heptaxodontinae ***Genus '' Amblyrhiza'' ****''

'' from

Anguilla Anguilla ( ) is a British Overseas Territory 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. The territo ...

and St. Martin ***Genus '' Elasmodontomys'' ****''

Elasmodontomys obliquus The plate-toothed giant hutia (''Elasmodontomys obliquus'') is an extinct species of rodent in the family Heptaxodontidae. It is the only species within the genus ''Elasmodontomys''. It was found in Puerto Rico. The rodent is thought to have w ...

'' from

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

***Genus '' Quemisia'' ****''

'' from

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 ...

***Genus '' Xaymaca'' ****'' Xaymaca fulvopulvis'' from

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

**Subfamily

Clidomyinae Osborn's key mouse (''Clidomys osborni''), also known as the larger Jamaican giant hutia, is a now extinct species of large rodent in the family Heptaxodontidae. It was found on the island of Jamaica and likely became extinct before the end of th ...

***Genus '' Clidomys'' ****''

Clidomys osborni Osborn's key mouse (''Clidomys osborni''), also known as the larger Jamaican giant hutia, is a now extinct species of large rodent in the family Heptaxodontidae. It was found on the island of Jamaica and likely became extinct before the end of th ...

'' from Jamaica

References

Bibliography

* Biknevicius, A. R.; McFarlane, Donald A. & MacPhee, R. D. E. (1993): Body size in ''Amblyrhiza inundata'' (Rodentia: Caviomorpha), an extinct megafaunal rodent from the Anguilla Bank, West Indies: estimates and implications. ''

American Museum Novitates ''American Museum Novitates'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Museum of Natural History. It was established in 1921. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the journal has a 2013 impact factor The impact f ...

'' 3079: 1-26
PDF fulltext
* MacPhee, R. D. E. & Flemming, C. (2003): A possible heptaxodontine and other caviidan rodents from the Quaternary of Jamaica. ''American Museum Novitates'' 3422: 1-42
PDF fulltext
* Nowak, Ronald M. 1999. ''Walker's Mammals of the World'', 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1936 * Woods, C. A. 1989. Biogeography of West Indian rodents. Pages 741–797 in Biogeography of the West Indies: Past Present and Future. Sandhill Crane Press, Gainesville. * {{Taxonbar, from=Q970593 Hystricognath rodents Fossils of the Caribbean Holocene extinctions Pleistocene first appearances Fossil taxa described in 1917 Prehistoric rodent families

Taxonomy

See also

References

Bibliography