Plate-toothed giant hutia

The plate-toothed giant hutia (Elasmodontomys obliquus) is an extinct species of rodent in the family Heptaxodontidae. It is the only species within the genus Elasmodontomys. It was found in Puerto Rico.[1]

Plate-toothed giant hutia
Temporal range: Late Pleistocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Heptaxodontidae
Genus: Elasmodontomys
Anthony, 1916
Species:
E. obliquus
Binomial name
Elasmodontomys obliquus
Anthony, 1916
Synonyms

Heptaxodon obliquus

Description

The rodent is thought to have weighed 13 kilograms (29 lb) and survived for at least 2000 years after humans colonised Puerto Rico.[2]

Taxonomy

Despite being described as a "giant hutia", it has recently been recovered as a member of the Chinchilloidea.[3]

References

  1. Woods, C.A.; Kilpatrick, C.W. (2005). "Infraorder Hystricognathi". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 1538–1600. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. Turvey, S. T.; Oliver, J. R.; Narganes Storde, Y. M.; Rye, P. (2007). "Late Holocene extinction of Puerto Rican native land mammals". Biology Letters. 3 (2): 193–196. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2006.0585. PMC 2375922. PMID 17251123.
  3. Marivaux, Laurent; Vélez-Juarbe, Jorge; Merzeraud, Gilles; Pujos, François; Viñola López, Lázaro W.; Boivin, Myriam; Santos-Mercado, Hernán; Cruz, Eduardo J.; Grajales, Alexandra; Padilla, James; Vélez-Rosado, Kevin I. (2020-02-12). "Early Oligocene chinchilloid caviomorphs from Puerto Rico and the initial rodent colonization of the West Indies". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 287 (1920): 20192806. doi:10.1098/rspb.2019.2806. ISSN 0962-8452. PMC 7031660. PMID 32075529.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.