Nesophontes
Nesophontes[1] Temporal range: Quaternary
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Nesophontes edithae | |
Extinct (c. 1700)
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Eulipotyphla |
Family: | †Nesophontidae Anthony, 1916 |
Genus: | †Nesophontes Anthony, 1916 |
Species | |
† |
Nesophontes, sometimes called West Indies shrews, is the sole genus of the extinct, monotypic mammal family Nesophontidae in the order Eulipotyphla. These animals were small insectivores, about 5 to 15 cm long, with a long slender snout and head and a long tail. They were endemic to the Greater Antilles (except Jamaica), in Cuba, Hispaniola (now the Dominican Republic and Haiti), Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands.
Extinction
Although reliable estimates are unavailable, these animals are confirmed to have survived the
The West Indies shrews have been described only from fossil records and skeletal material in owl pellets found in the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. Recent efforts to locate surviving populations have been unsuccessful.[4] Although some Nesophontes remains in owl pellets have been reported as fresh-appearing, radiocarbon dating has failed to support any post-16th century dates, suggesting that the nesophontids became extinct very rapidly at approximately the time of European discovery and settlement of the Greater Antilles,[5] although the Cayman nesophontes possibly survived until around 1632 to 1774,[6] with a likely extinction date of c. 1700.[7]
Species
Since Nesophontes species have only been observed through
- Puerto Rican nesophontes (Nesophontes edithae)
- Cayman nesophontes (Nesophontes hemicingulus)
- Atalaye nesophontes (Nesophontes hypomicrus)
- Greater Cuban nesophontes (Nesophontes major)
- Western Cuban nesophontes (Nesophontes micrus)
- St. Michel nesophontes (Nesophontes paramicrus)
- Haitian nesophontes (Nesophontes zamicrus)
See also
- Giant hutia
- List of extinct animals
- List of eulipotyphlans of the Caribbean
References
- ^ OCLC 62265494.
- .
- PMID 27624716.
- ^ Woods, C. A., J. A. Ottenwalder, and W. L. R. Oliver (1985). "Lost mammals of the Greater Antilles: summarized findings of a ten week field survey in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Puerto Rico". Dodo (Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust). 22: 23–42.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - hdl:2246/3106.)
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - S2CID 92503421.
- ^ "Three new mammal species discovered in Cayman Islands after bones found inside crocodiles". The Independent. 2019-03-05. Archived from the original on 2022-06-18. Retrieved 2020-09-15.