Desmarest's Hutia
Capromys pilorides
- Class
- Mammal
- Rarity
- Common
- Observations
- 152
- Most observed in
- 🇨🇺 Cuba
- Conservation
- Least Concern
Description
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.
Summary adapted from the Wikipedia article “Desmarest's hutia”.