''Plagiodontia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 ...

in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Capromyinae 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 a ...

(hutias). All known species are endemic to the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

island of

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 ...

(in the present-day

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

and

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

). The genus name ''Plagiodontia'' means "oblique tooth", and 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 "placed sideways", and , (), meaning "tooth".

Systematics

This genus contains the following three species (two of them extinct): *

Hispaniolan hutia The Hispaniolan hutia (''Plagiodontia aedium'') is a small, endangered, rat-like mammal endemic to forests on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (split between Haiti and the Dominican Republic). It lives in burrows or trees, and is active at ni ...

(''Plagiodontia aedium'') F. Cuvier, 1836 *†

Samaná hutia The Samaná hutia (''Plagiodontia ipnaeum'') is an extinction, extinct species of rodent in the subfamily Hutia, Capromyinae. It was Endemism, endemic to Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti). Its natural habitat was subtropical or tropic ...

(''Plagiodontia ipnaeum'') Johnson, 1948 *† ''Plagiodontia spelaeum'' Miller, 1929

Phylogeny

Within Capromyidae, ''Plagiodontia'' is the deepest branching genus, belonging to the tribe Plagiodontini. It is the sister group to the other genera ''Geocapromys'', ''Mesocapromys'', ''Mysateles'' and ''Capromys'', all belonging to the tribe Capromyini.

References

Hutias Rodent genera Taxa named by Frédéric Cuvier Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{rodent-stub