Garrido's hutia (''Capromys garridoi'') is a small,

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

, rat-like mammal found in coastal mangrove forests on Cuba and nearby islands. It is rarely seen and may be

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

. 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. Most species are restricted to Cuba, but species are known from all of the Greater Antilles, as well as ...

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 n ...

native to the Caribbean that are mostly endangered or extinct. The only other species in its genus, the

Desmarest's hutia Desmarest's hutia or the Cuban hutia (''Capromys pilorides'') is a stout, furry, rat-like mammal found only on Cuba and nearby islands. Growing to about , it normally lives in pairs and feeds on leaves, fruit, bark and sometimes small animals. It ...

(''Capromys pilorides''), is also found only on Cuba.

Taxonomy

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 ...

'', but phylogenetic analysis supports it belonging to the genus ''Capromys'', of which the only other member is the

(''C. pilorides''). It is not known if the species is truly distinct from ''C. pilorides''; some authors have interpreted it as a misidentified specimen of it, but others consider it a distinct species based on cranial morphometric analysis. The

American Society of Mammalogists The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to encourage the study of mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence ...

tentatively recognizes it as a distinct species.

Habitat and conservation

The Garrido's hutia lives in Cuban mangrove forests, part of the biodiverse

Cuban moist forests The Cuban moist forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion that occupies on Cuba and Isla de la Juventud. The ecoregion receives more than of rainfall annually, and does not have a dry season. Soils are usually derived from quartz, ...

ecoregion (listed on the

Global 200 The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature ( WWF), the global conservation organization, as priorities for conservation. According to WWF, an ecoregion is defined as a "relatively large unit of land or w ...

). Its range is thought to include small islands in the Banco de los Jardins y Jardinillos of

Canarreos Archipelago The Canarreos Archipelago () is an archipelago of Cuba. It is located south of the main island of Cuba, in the Caribbean Sea, at . It is bordered to the east by the Gulf of Cazones, to the north by the Gulf of Batabano and to the west by the Los ...

south of

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Zapata Peninsula Zapata Peninsula () is a large peninsula in Matanzas Province, southern Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,1 ...

and east of the Isle of Youth. A single animal was collected around 1970 on Cayos Maja off of south-central Cuba. In 1989, two additional animals were captured alive in keys near Cayos Maja.

Notes

References

External links

Animal Info - Garrido's Hutia
Hutias Fauna of Cuba Mammals of Cuba Mammals of the Caribbean Critically endangered animals Mammals described in 1970 Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN Endemic fauna of Cuba {{rodent-stub