List of rodents of the Caribbean

The Caribbean region is home to a diverse and largely endemic rodent fauna. This includes the endemic family Capromyidae (hutias), which are largely limited to the Greater Antilles, and two other groups of endemic hystricognaths, the heteropsomyines and giant hutias, including the extinct bear-sized[1] Amblyrhiza inundata. Lesser Antillean rodent faunas mostly consist of oryzomyines, members of a distantly related group of rodents, and include two of the largest known oryzomyines, Megalomys desmarestii and "Oryzomys hypenemus". Various other rodents are limited to land-bridge islands such as Trinidad, which were connected to the mainland during glacial-period lowered sea levels in the Pleistocene, or to smaller portions of the Caribbean archipelago. Much of the native rodent fauna of the Caribbean are extinct because of human influences, particularly following the introduction of invasive species such as Old World rats.

For the purposes of this article, the "Caribbean" includes all islands in the Caribbean Sea (except for small islets close to the mainland) and the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Barbados, which are not in the Caribbean Sea but biogeographically belong to the same Caribbean bioregion.

Contents

Overview

The Caribbean rodent fauna is dominated by oryzomyines (rice rats), members of the family Cricetidae, and by three groups of hystricognaths: hutias (family Capromyidae), giant hutias (taxonomy unclear), and heteropsomyines (subfamily Heteropsomyinae), which are part of the spiny rat family (Echimyidae). Many other rodent groups are known from the Caribbean, but these are either introduced or limited to islands outside the limits of the West Indian faunal region as defined by Koopman.[2]

So far, no rodents have been recorded from Navassa Island, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Saint Barthélemy, Redonda, Saba, the federal dependencies of Venezuela, or the Insular Region of Colombia.

Oryzomyines are a diverse group, consisting over a hundred species found from the eastern United States south to Tierra del Fuego, including also the Galápagos Islands. In the Caribbean, they are found on many islands close to the mainland, from the Florida Keys to Tobago, but also on Jamaica and throughout the Lesser Antilles north to Anguilla. Their invasion of the Lesser Antilles must have been relatively recent, as sigmodontine rodents only reached South America from North America about 5 million years ago.[3] In the Lesser Antilles, most species have not been named or described, and the true diversity of the group in that region remains unclear. All endemic Caribbean oryzomyines are now extinct, though several island populations of mainland species survive.[4]

Hutias are the most diverse endemic Caribbean hystricognath group and the only one that still survives, although many species are extinct. Most species are known from Cuba and Hispaniola, but hutias are also indigenous to Jamaica and some smaller islands and they have been introduced to several other parts of the Caribbean. The hutia family is divided into four subfamilies, of which one or two are now extinct.[5] They have been present in the Caribbean for a considerable span of time, as documented by the find of a hutia, Zazamys, in early Miocene sediments on Cuba.[6] This represents more than half the age (~32 million years) of the earliest known hystricognath rodent in South America (a continent hystricognaths colonized by rafting across the Atlantic from their ancestral home in Africa).[7]

Giant hutias are a heterogeneous group of hystricognaths that include not only truly giant forms like Amblyrhiza, but also the small Xaymaca. All are now extinct. Some have previously been included in a family Heptaxodontidae, but there is little evidence that the group is truly natural. Giant hutias are known from Jamaica (Clidomys, Xaymaca, and possibly another, very large form), Hispaniola (Quemisia), Puerto Rico (Elasmodontomys, Tainotherium), and Anguilla and Saint Martin in the northern Lesser Antilles (Amblyrhiza).[8]

Heteropsomyines form a distinct subfamily of the widespread Neotropic family of spiny rats, which is known only from Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico. On each island, a distinct genus with two species has been found, but all are now extinct. A fourth genus, Puertoricomys, is known from an older, perhaps Pliocene, deposit on Puerto Rico.[9] These animals exhibited characters intermediate between hutias and spiny rats and have sometimes been treated as a subfamily of the Capromyidae.[10]

Among introduced rodents, the house mouse (Mus musculus), brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), and black rat (Rattus rattus) are most common; these three species, originally from the Old World, have been introduced to all parts of the world and occur throughout the Caribbean.[11] They are not mentioned specifically in the faunal lists in this article.

Agoutis, members of a mainland American hystricognath genus that is also indigenous to some Caribbean islands, have also been widely introduced, resulting, among others, in the presence of the Brazilian agouti (Dasyprocta leporina) on most of the Lesser Antilles. Several other hystricognaths have also been introduced in parts of the Caribbean.[5]

The genera of Caribbean rodents are classified as follows:[12]

Greater Antilles

The four islands of the Greater Antilles, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico, are home to a diverse indigenous hystricognath fauna. Jamaica also harbors an indigenous oryzomyine and various introduced rodents now occur on all islands.

Cuba

Cuba, the largest of the Antilles, and its surrounding islands, of which the Isla de la Juventud is the most significant, harbor a diverse hutia fauna, including many species with very limited distributions. Various other hutias and an endemic genus of heteropsomyine went extinct during the Quaternary and the oldest known hutia, Zazamys, has been found in Miocene Cuban deposits.

Jamaica

The rodent fauna of Jamaica is relatively poor at the species level, including only five indigenous species, but diverse at higher taxonomic levels, including the only oryzomyine of the Greater Antilles and several distantly related hystricognaths.

Hispaniola

Hispaniola, the second largest of the Antilles, is politically divided into Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Various hutias and other hystricognaths are known from both the main island and several surrounding islands, including Gonâve Island.

Puerto Rico

Several hystricognaths are known from Puerto Rico, the easternmost of the Greater Antilles, which is under United States sovereignty. Hutias are notably absent from the indigenous fauna, but giant hutias and heteropsomyines are present.

Leeward Islands

The Leeward Islands, the northern segment of the Lesser Antilles, have various indigenous oryzomyines and a single indigenous hystricognath in addition to a series of introduced rodents.

U.S. Virgin Islands

The United States Virgin Islands are a group of islands east of Puerto Rico, centered around the three main islands of Saint Thomas, Saint John and Saint Croix. No native rodents are known, but several species have been introduced.

Anguilla

Anguilla is a British island with some native rodents, including the giant Amblyrhiza.

Saint Martin

The island of Saint Martin is divided into a French and a Dutch part. Its rodent fauna is similar to that of nearby Anguilla.

Sint Eustatius

Sint Eustatius is a small island near Saint Kitts that is part of the Netherlands.

Saint Kitts

Saint Kitts forms the nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis together with nearby Nevis.

Nevis

Nevis is the second main island of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Its rodents are known from archeological finds only.

Antigua

Antigua, which together with Barbuda forms Antigua and Barbuda, was home to a giant oryzomyine which has been described from a site named Mill Reef under the invalid name "Oryzomys hypenemus".[46] Subsequently, rice rats were also reported from two other Antigua sites, Burma Quarry and Indian Creek; although not explicitly equated with "O. hypenemus", the oryzomyines from the two new sites and Mill Reef were reported under the same species.[47] A more detailed study on the remains from Burma Quarry, an Amerindian site which is about 4500 to 2500 years old, reported the presence of a large rice rat, known as "Undescribed species B", which also occurred on nearby Barbuda, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, and Marie Galante. The femora from this site fell into three different size classes, however, suggesting the presence of more than one species of oryzomyine.[48] At another archeological site, Indian Creek, dated at 1 to 600 CE, a large oryzomyine was found. Its weight was estimated at 408 g on the basis of an average femur depth of 4.8 mm.[49] An unidentified Rattus, the agouti Dasyprocta leporina, and the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus), all of which were introduced to the island by humans, have also been found in archeological sites.[50]

Barbuda

Barbuda is the other main island of Antigua and Barbuda. In addition to "Oryzomys hypenemus", another, smaller oryzomyine has also been recorded, Megalomys audreyae, though on the basis of very limited material.[51] It has been suggested that this species is from Barbados instead.[52] A later study reported "Undescribed species B", which was apparently widespread in the region, from archeological sites on Barbuda (see under Antigua).[53]

Montserrat

Montserrat is a small British island which has hosted several rodents.

Guadeloupe

The double island of Guadeloupe, which consists of two parts separated only by a narrow channel, is the core of the French overseas department of Guadeloupe. Several rodents are known.

Marie Galante

Marie Galante is a smaller island that politically belongs to nearby Guadeloupe.

Dominica

Dominica, the southernmost of the Leeward Islands, is an independent state. Unlike in most nearby islands, no oryzomyines have been recorded, but several introduced rodents are known.

Windward Islands

The rodent fauna of the Windward Islands is more diverse than that of the Leeward Islands, reflecting the islands' location closer to the South American mainland.

Martinique

Martinique is a French overseas department. In addition to a very large oryzomyine, some introduced hystricognaths are known.

Saint Lucia

The island of Saint Lucia is an independent state. Its rodent fauna is similar to that of its northern neighbor, Martinique.

Saint Vincent and Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an independent state, composed of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern portion of the Grenadines. A few rodents are known.

Grenada

The island of Grenada, the southernmost of the main island chain of the Lesser Antilles, is part of an independent state that also comprises the southern Grenadines, including Carriacou. In addition to some Recent rodents, a small Pliocene fauna is known.

Barbados

Barbados lies east of the main island chain of the Lesser Antilles. There are some anecdotal records of small indigenous mouse-like rodents, probably oryzomyines, from historic times and an oryzomyine ("Oryzomys new sp.") has been recorded in archeological deposits.[69] It has been suggested that Megalomys audreyae, described from similarly named Barbuda, actually came from Barbados.[70]

Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago, two islands off northeastern Venezuela, form an independent country. Trinidad has a more diverse fauna than smaller and more remote Tobago, but as Pleistocene land-bridge islands, both have faunas that are more diverse than those of most Caribbean islands. On the other hand, endemism is much more limited than on other islands, with only one definite endemic species known.

ABC islands

The ABC islands are three islands off northwestern Venezuela that are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. They have a diverse rodent fauna, including many oryzomyines and several others, notably including many from Pleistocene faunas.

Bonaire

Bonaire is the easternmost of the ABC islands. Two species of oryzomyines in a single genus, restricted to Bonaire, are known from Pleistocene fossil deposits, together with an indeterminate third species:

Curaçao

Curaçao is the largest of the ABC islands and it has received the most mammalogical attention. Its known rodent fauna includes several species, some with restricted distributions.

Aruba

Aruba is the smallest of the ABC islands and the closest to the mainland. Several rodents are known, none of which are definitely endemic. Most are from Pleistocene deposits, but Calomys hummelincki is extant.

Miscellaneous

Florida Keys

The Florida Keys are a group of islands near the Florida mainland. The rodent fauna includes two species which both also occur on the adjacent mainland.

Bahamas

The Bahamas are a large archipelago north of Cuba and east of Florida. The only indigenous rodent is a hutia.

Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands are a group of British islands west of Jamaica. Their native rodent fauna consisted of several species of hutia, which are now extinct.

Cozumel

Cozumel is a large island near the mainland of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The rodent fauna includes several species, all with close relations to forms from the adjacent mainland. The pocket gopher Orthogeomys hispidus has also been recorded, but most likely in error.[104]

Honduran islands

Several Caribbean islands are under the sovereignty of Honduras. These islands harbor two endemic rodents, one of which is now extinct. Several other species also occur on the Central American mainland.

Nueva Esparta

Nueva Esparta is a Venezuelan state that comprises Isla Margarita and some nearby islands. Like Trinidad and Tobago, Isla Margarita is a land-bridge island with a relatively diverse rodent fauna.

See also

References

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Literature cited