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 60 cm (2 ft), it normally lives in pairs and feeds on leaves, fruit, bark and sometimes small animals. It is the largest living hutia (subfamily Capromyinae), a group of rodents native to the Caribbean that are mostly endangered or extinct. Desmarest's hutia remains widespread throughout its range, though one subspecies (C. p. lewisi) native to the nearby Cayman Islands went extinct shortly after European colonization in the 1500s.

Desmarest's hutia
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Echimyidae
Subfamily: Capromyinae
Tribe: Capromyini
Genus: Capromys
Species:
C. pilorides
Binomial name
Capromys pilorides
Say 1822
Subspecies
  • C. p. pilorides
  • C. p. ciprianoi
  • C. p. doceleguas
  • C. p. gundlachianus (Varona, 1983)
  • C. p. relictus
  • †C. p. lewisi Morgan, MacPhee, R. Woods, & Turvey, 2019
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