Cuban solenodon
Cuban solenodon[1] | |
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Specimen at the Bronx Zoo, 1913 | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Eulipotyphla |
Family: | Solenodontidae |
Genus: | Atopogale Cabrera, 1925 |
Species: | A. cubana
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Binomial name | |
Atopogale cubana (Peters, 1861)
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Cuban solenodon range | |
Synonyms | |
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The Cuban solenodon or almiquí (Atopogale cubana) is a small, furry, shrew-like mammal
The Cuban solenodon is endangered and was once considered extinct due to its rarity. It and the Hispaniolan solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus) are the only surviving solenodon species; the others are extinct.
Taxonomy
Although formerly classified in the genus Solenodon, phylogenetic evidence supports it being in its own genus, Atopogale.[3]
Rediscovery
Since its discovery in 1861 by the German naturalist
Appearance
With small eyes, and dark brown to black hair, the Cuban solenodon is sometimes compared to a
Status
Distribution and habitat
It is endemic to mountainous forests in the Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa mountain range of eastern Cuba, in the provinces of Holguín, Guantánamo, and Santiago de Cuba, though subfossil evidence showed it once inhabited throughout the island. It is nocturnal and travels at night along the forest floor, looking for insects and small animals on which to feed.
Behavior
This species has a varied diet. At night, they search the forest floor litter for insects and other invertebrates, fungi, and roots. They climb well and feed on fruits, berries, and buds, but have more predatory habits, too. With venom from modified salivary glands in the lower jaw, they can kill lizards, frogs, small birds, or even rodents. They seem not to be immune to the venom of their own kind, and cage mates have been reported dying after fights.
Mating
Cuban solenodons only meet to mate, and the male practices polygeny (i.e. mates with multiple females). The males and females are not found together unless they are mating. The pair will meet up, mate, then separate. The males do not participate in raising any of the young.
References
- OCLC 62265494.
- . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ "Atopogale cubana (W. Peters, 1861)". ASM Mammal Diversity Database. American Society of Mammalogists. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
- ^ Ley, Willy (December 1964). "The Rarest Animals". For Your Information. Galaxy Science Fiction. pp. 94–103.
- ^ "Cuban Solenodon". EDGE of Existence.
External links
- Archived 2009-10-31
- EDGE of Existence "(Cuban solenodon)" Saving the World's most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species