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 jutÃa) 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
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 ...
(''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 ...
's
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
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