''Megalomys curazensis'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 ...

from the

Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as Upper Pleistocene from a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of ...

(400,000 to 130,000 years ago) of the island of

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

, off northwestern

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. It is a member of the genus ''

Megalomys ''Megalomys'' is a genus of rodent in the family Cricetidae, part of the tribe Oryzomyini. The genus contains five large rodents from various Caribbean islands, of which two are known to have survived into modern times, but all of which are now ex ...

'', which also includes species from other islands of the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...

. It is known from abundant but fragmentary material found throughout the island.De Buisonjé, 1974

References

Bibliography

* Buisonjé, P.H. de. 1974. Neogene and Quaternary geology of Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire. Uitgaven "Natuurwetenschappelijke Studiekring voor Suriname en de Nederlandse Antillen" 74:1–291. * Hooijer, D.A. 1959. Fossil rodents from Curaçao and Bonaire. Studies on the Fauna of Curaçao and other Caribbean Islands 35:1–27. * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2336145 Megalomys Pleistocene rodents Pleistocene mammals of South America Lujanian Pleistocene Caribbean Fossils of Curaçao Fossil taxa described in 1959