Lava Mouse
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| iLava Mouse |
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Extinct (fossil)
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| Malpaisomys insularis Hutterer, Lopez-Martinez & Michaux, 1988 |
The lava mouse Malpaisomys insularis is an extinct endemic rodent from the Canary Islands, Spain. It is the only species in the genus Malpaisomys.
The Lava Mouse is known from Holocene and Pleistocene deposits in the eastern Canary Islands, including Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and nearby islets. It became extinct during historical times, probably because of the arrival of man.
This rodent owes its name Malpaisomys to the Spanish word, malpaís, meaning lava fields where its fossil remains are sometimes found in cavities. A study of its skeletal characteristics suggested that the Lava Mouse lived in fissures opened in the lava fields.
[edit] References
- Renaud, S., Michaux, J. 2004. Parallel evolution in molar outline of murine rodents: the case of the extinct Malpaisomys insularis (Eastern Canary Islands). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 142, 555–572.
