Dwarf hutia
| Dwarf hutia | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Echimyidae |
| Tribe: | Capromyini |
| Genus: | Mesocapromys |
| Species: | M. nana |
| Binomial name | |
| Mesocapromys nana (G. M. Allen, 1917) | |
| Synonyms | |
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The dwarf hutia (Mesocapromys nana) is a small, critically endangered, rat-like mammal known only from Cuba. Aside from tracks, it was last seen in 1937 and may be extinct. It gives birth to only a single offspring at a time, and is threatened by habitat loss and non-native species such as rats and mongoose. The dwarf hutia belongs to the hutia subfamily (Capromyinae), a group of rodents native to the Caribbean that are mostly endangered or extinct.