Soricomorphs Of The Caribbean

The Caribbean region is home to two unique families of the mammalian order Eulipotyphla (incorporating the now defunct order Soricomorpha), which also includes the hedgehogs, gymnures shrews, moles and desmans. Only one Caribbean family, that of the solenodons, is still extant; the other, Nesophontidae, became extinct within the last few centuries.

For the purposes of this article, the "Caribbean" includes all islands in the Caribbean Sea (except for small islets close to the mainland) and the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Barbados, which are not in the Caribbean Sea but biogeographically belong to the same Caribbean bioregion.

Overview

About fifteen species of Caribbean eulipotyphlans are known to have existed during the Quaternary, but not all ''Nesophontes'' species are universally accepted as valid.Hutterer, 2005, p. 220 However, most of these, including all ''Nesophontes'', are now extinct; the Cuban solenodon is classified as Endangered, while the Hispaniolan solenodon is classified as Least Concern.

The interrelationships of the two Caribbean genera remain unclear. Similarities in skull morphology have led some to propose close affinities between the two, but differences in characters of the teeth are evidence against a close relationship. DNA evidence suggests that solenodons are a sister group to a clade of shrews, moles, and erinaceids, with a molecular clock, providing evidence that the split from the other families occurred in the Cretaceous period, late in the Mesozoic era. How they came to the Antilles is unknown; they may have arrived either via overwater dispersal or via some sort of land bridge from North America, South America, or even Africa, and ''Nesophontes'' and solenodons may have different origins.

The genera of Caribbean eulipotyphlans are classified as follows:
*Order Eulipotyphla
**Family Nesophontidae: ''Nesophontes''
**Family Solenodontidae: ''Solenodon'' and '' Atopogale''
**Unidentified genus

Cuba

Cuba, the largest of the Antilles, also has the largest inventory of eulipotyphlans, including five members of ''Nesophontes'' and two solenodons.
*†''Nesophontes major'' is known from cave deposits of uncertain age.Hutterer, 2005, p. 220-221
*†''Nesophontes micrus'', the most widespread and large ''Nesophontes'', is known from a single mandible dated to the 14th century CE that was found on the surface of a cave deposit together with ''Rattus'', suggesting recent survival.Hutterer, 2005, p. 222
*†'' Solenodon arredondoi'' is known from Late Pleistocene deposits in western Cuba.
*'' Atopogale cubana'', the only surviving Cuban solenodon, has been confirmed only from eastern Cuba as a living animal, but there are several fossil records in the western part of the island.
*Some fossil cave samples from several localities represent solenodons that are larger than ''A. cubana'', but too small for ''S. arredondoi''. They have been identified as ''Solenodon'' cf. ''cubanus''.

Isla de la Juventud

Isla de la Juventud is a large island south of Cuba.
*†''Nesophontes micrus'' has been recorded from the island.

Cayman Islands

Two extinct undescribed species of ''Nesophontes'' are known from several cave deposits on the Cayman Islands, a British archipelago south of Cuba. The two are similar in morphology, but the species from Grand Cayman is larger than the one from Cayman Brac. They are closely related to each other and to the Cuban–Hispaniolan species ''N. micrus''. The oldest record is from the latest Pleistocene, but they probably arrived there earlier in the Pleistocene, if not in the Pliocene. In the youngest layers of several deposits, ''Nesophontes'' is found together with introduced ''Rattus'', indicating that its extinction occurred relatively recently.

Hispaniola

Hispaniola is the second largest of the Antilles. It is divided into Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
*†''Nesophontes hypomicrus'' has been found together with ''Rattus'' and remains from a cave in the Dominican Republic have been dated to the 13th century CE.
*†''Nesophontes micrus'' has also been recorded from Hispaniola.
*†''Nesophontes paramicrus'' has been found together with remains of ''Rattus''; some bones from a cave in Haiti have been dated to the 14th century CE.
*†''Nesophontes zamicrus'' has been found together with ''Rattus''; some remains have been radiocarbon-dated to the 13th century CE.
*†''Solenodon marcanoi'' is known from late Quaternary fossil deposits in southern Haiti and the southwestern Dominican Republic.
*'' Solenodon paradoxus'', the Hispaniolan solenodon (one of two extant solenodons), is known both as a living animal and from fossil deposits throughout much of the island, except for northern Haiti. Separate subspecies occur in the northern (''S. p. paradoxus'') and southern highlands (''S. p. woodi'').
*Some chest vertebrae and associated ribs of a mammal, probably a solenodontid, have been found in amber in the Dominican Republic. These are probably not older than the late Oligocene. The animal would have been about the size of ''Nesophontes'', with an estimated body mass of .MacPhee and Grimaldi, 1996

Gonâve

Gonâve is an island off western Hispaniola, part of Haiti.
*†''Nesophontes hypomicrus''
*'' Solenodon paradoxus'', the extant Hispaniolan solenodon, is known from a recent fossil deposit on Gonâve, but there are currently no known solenodon populations there.Ottenwalder, 2001, fig. 16

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is the smallest and easternmost of the Greater Antilles.
*†''Nesophontes edithae'', a large ''Nesophontes'', has been recorded from an Amerindian site, and dated to about 1000 CE.

Vieques

Vieques is the largest island associated with Puerto Rico; it is located east of the main island.
*†''Nesophontes edithae'', a Puerto Rican ''Nesophontes'', has been recorded from a kitchen midden on Vieques.Ottenwalder, 2001, p. 253

Saint John

Saint John is one of the main islands of the northern United States Virgin Islands.
*†''Nesophontes edithae'' is known from archeological material.MacPhee et al., 1999, p. 7

Saint Thomas

Saint Thomas is one of the main islands of the northern United States Virgin Islands.
*†''Nesophontes edithae'' is known from archeological material.

See also

* Island biogeography
* Extinction
* List of North American eulipotyphlans
* List of Mexican eulipotyphlans
* List of Central American eulipotyphlans
* List of South American eulipotyphlans

References

Literature cited

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*IUCN 2008. ''IUCN Red List of Threatened Species''. Version 2015.1.
www.iucnredlist.org
. Downloaded on June 20, 2015.
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*MacPhee, R.D.E.; Flemming, C.; Lunde, D.P. (1999).
Last occurrence" of the Antillean insectivoran ''Nesophontes'': New radiometric dates and their interpretation
''American Museum Novitates'' 3261:1–20.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Eulipotyphlans Of The Caribbean
Mammals of the Caribbean
Soricomorphs