Solenodon
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 Cuban Solenodon (Solenodon cubanus)
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| Solenodon paradoxus Brandt, 1833 |
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†Solenodon arredondoi |
Solenodons are nocturnal, burrowing, insectivorous mammals belonging to the family Solenodontidae Only one genus, the Solenodon is known, although a few other genera were erected at one time and are now regarded as (junior) synonyms.
Often compared to shrews, solenodons resemble rats with extremely elongated cartilaginous snouts, long, naked, scaly tails, small eyes, and coarse, dark brown to black hair. Between 70-80 centimeters (28-32 inches) long from nose to tail, solenodons are known to become very easily agitated and may squeal or bite with little or no provocation.
The two living solenodon species are the Cuban Solenodon (Solenodon cubanus) of Cuba and the Haitian or Hispaniolan Solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus) of Hispaniola (island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti). Both became endangered species due to predation by the Small Asian Mongoose (specifically subspecies Herpestes javanicus auropunctatus), which was introduced in colonial times to hunt snakes and rats, as well as by feral cats and dogs. The Hispaniolan Solenodon is practically extinct, with sightings of specimens or their markings occurring rather infrequently. The Cuban Solenodon was thought to have been extinct until a live specimen was found in 2003. The Marcano's Solenodon (Solenodon marcanoi) went extinct in the Holocene.
Solenodons have a few intriguing traits, two of them being the position of the teats (2) on the female, almost on the buttocks of the animal, and the second being the venomous saliva that flows from modified salivary glands in the mandible through grooves on the second lower incisors ("solenodon" derives from the Greek "grooved tooth"). Solenodons are among a handful of venomous mammals.
The Solenodontidae family is interesting to phylogenetics researchers due to its retention of primitive mammal characteristics; their species resemble very closely those that lived near the end of the age of the dinosaurs.
[edit] References
- ^ Hutterer, Rainer (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 222-223. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
