The black-tailed hutia (''Mesocapromys melanurus''), also known as the bushy-tailed hutia, is a small, furry, rat-like mammal found only in Cuba. It lives in lowland moist forests and is threatened by habitat loss. It is a member of the

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 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 nat ...

native to the Caribbean that are mostly endangered or extinct. Although it was formerly classified in the genus ''

Mysateles The prehensile-tailed hutia (''Mysateles prehensilis'') is a small, furry, rat-like mammal found only in forests on Cuba. It is the only member of the genus ''Mysateles''. It climbs and lives in trees where it eats only leaves, and it is threate ...

'', phylogenetic evidence supports it belonging to the genus ''

Mesocapromys ''Mesocapromys'' is a genus of rodent in the subfamily Capromyinae. The genus is restricted to Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as we ...

''.

References

* Mesocapromys Hutias Mammals of Cuba

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 ...

Vulnerable animals Mammals described in 1865 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN Endemic fauna of Cuba {{rodent-stub