''Canariomys'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of rodents (Old World rats and mice) that once existed on the islands of

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

and

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that ...

, part of the Canary Islands,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. These giant rats could reach a weight of about . They were herbivores; their diet was based on plant materials, probably soft vegetables such as roots, ferns, and berries, but not grass. ''C. tamarani'' were considered herbivores, eating everything plant-like except grass with good digging skills. While ''C. bravoi'' were considered as a rat character, because of its large size, with an omnivorous diet with good climbing skills. They were one of two groups of rodents native to the archipelago, alongside the lava mouse (''Malpaisomys insularis''), which was native to Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. It is generally believed that the species of Tenerife lived in a wooded area linked to the

laurisilva Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of Subtropics, subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glo ...

and that it had climbing abilities, whereas the species of Gran Canaria lived in more open environments and was more linked to the excavation of burrows. Two species are currently recognized: * Tenerife giant rat, ''Canariomys bravoi'' (Tenerife,

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

-Holocene) * Gran Canaria giant rat, ''Canariomys tamarani'' (Gran Canaria, Pleistocene-

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

) Both species became extinct around the beginning of the 1st Millennium, shortly after the first human settlement of the islands by the

Guanches The Guanches were the indigenous inhabitants of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean some west of Africa. It is believed that they may have arrived on the archipelago some time in the first millennium BCE. The Guanches were the only nativ ...

. Genetic evidence indicates that the genus is nested within ''

Arvicanthis ''Arvicanthis'' is a genus of rodent from Africa. They are commonly referred to as unstriped grass mice, unstriped grass rats, and kusu rats. Species Genus ''Arvicanthis'' - unstriped grass mice *Abyssinian grass rat, ''Arvicanthis abyssinicus' ...

,'' specifically within the African grass rat (''A. niloticus'')

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

, with an estimated divergence from its mainland relatives around 650,000 years ago.

References

* * Extinct mammals Extinct rodents Extinct animals of Africa Prehistoric murids Prehistoric rodent genera {{paleo-rodent-stub