''Geocapromys'' is a genus of rodent belonging to the hutia subfamily and are currently only found on the Bahamas and Jamaica. However, they formerly ranged throughout 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 ...

, from Cuba to the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

to even islands off mainland Central America.

Systematics

The genus ''Geocapromys'' comprises five recent species, three of which are extinct. * ''Geocapromys ingrahami'', the

Bahamian hutia The Bahamian hutia or Ingraham's hutia (''Geocapromys ingrahami'') is a small, furry, rat-like mammal found only in the Bahamas. About the size of a rabbit, it lives in burrows in forests or shrubland, emerging at night to feed on leaves, fruit, ...

or Ingraham's hutia, is an

extant Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...

species of hutia native to the Bahamas. * ''G. brownii'', the

Jamaican hutia The Jamaican coney (''Geocapromys brownii''), also known as the Jamaican hutia or Brown's hutia, is a small, endangered, rat-like mammal found only on the island of Jamaica. About the size of a rabbit, it lives in group nests and is active at nig ...

, which is also known as the Jamaican coney or Brown's hutia, is another extant species endemic to Jamaica. * ''G. thoracatus'', the

Little Swan Island hutia The Little Swan Island hutia (''Geocapromys thoracatus'') is an Extinction, extinct species of rodent that lived on Swan Islands, Honduras, Little Swan Island, off northeastern Honduras in the Caribbean. It was a slow-moving, guinea-pig-like rode ...

, was a third species which was found only on Little Swan Island, off northeastern

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

. It became extinct in 1955, wiped out by storms and introduced predators. Some scientists consider it a subspecies of ''G. brownii''. *''G. columbianus'', the

Cuban coney The Cuban coney (''Geocapromys columbianus'') is an extinct species of rodent in the subfamily Capromyinae. In it’s time, it was endemic to Cuba. Its natural habitats were lowlands moist forests, xeric shrublands and rocky areas. Some scienti ...

, was endemic to Cuba, where it went extinct shortly after human colonization. *''G. caymanensis'', the

Cayman hutia Cayman may refer to * Cayman Islands, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom ** Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, or Little Cayman, three islands that are part of the Cayman Islands * , a British frigate in service with the Royal Navy from 1944 to 194 ...

, was endemic to the Cayman Islands, where it went extinct shortly after human colonization. In addition, there are two species, '' G. megas'' and '' G. pleistocenicus'', which are known only from fossil remains.

Phylogeny

Within Capromyidae, ''Geocapromys'' is the sister group to a clade comprising ''Mesocapromys'' and ''Mysateles'' on the one hand, and ''Capromys'' on the other hand. In turn, these four genera belong to the tribe Capromyini, and are the sister group to ''Plagiodontia''.

References

Hutias Rodent genera {{Rodent-stub