Marcano's solenodon

Marcano's solenodon
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Eulipotyphla
Family: Solenodontidae
Genus: Solenodon
Species:
S. marcanoi
Binomial name
Solenodon marcanoi
(Patterson, 1962)
Synonyms
  • Atopogale marcanoi
  • Antillogale marcanoi

Marcano's solenodon (Solenodon marcanoi) is an extinct species of mammal in the family Solenodontidae known only from skeletal remains found on the island of Hispaniola (today the Dominican Republic and Haiti).[2][3][4]

Etymology

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The specific epithet, marcanoi, is in honor of the Dominican botanist, entomologist, herpetologist, speleologist and researcher Eugenio de Jesús Marcano Fondeur.

Description

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The species was smaller than the other extant member of its genus, the sympatric Hispaniolan solenodon (S. paradoxus).[1] Marcano's solenodon's limb bones were comparatively shorter than in S. paradoxus, suggesting smaller size and possibly short stature.[3] Like its congenerics, it probably was a nocturnal, burrowing, shrew-like mammal with a long snout, that fed on insects, earthworms, small reptiles, birds, amphibians, and mammals.[4]

History

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The remains were found in association with those from rats of the genus Rattus, which suggests that Marcano's solenodon survived until the time of European colonization of the island, and may have gone extinct due to predation from introduced rodents.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Turvey, S.T.; Helgen, K. (2018). "Solenodon marcanoi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T20322A22327069. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T20322A22327069.en. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. ^ Hutterer, R. (2005). "Solenodon marcanoi". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 223. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  3. ^ a b Ottenwalder, J.A. (2001). "Systematics and biogeography of the West Indian genus Solenodon". In Woods, C.A.; Sergile, F.E. (eds.). Biogeography of the West Indies: Patterns and Perspectives, Second Edition. Boca Raton, London, New York, and Washington, D.C.: CRC Press. pp. 253–330. doi:10.1201/9781420039481-16. ISBN 978-1-4200-3948-1. OCLC 46240352.
  4. ^ a b c Piper, Ross (2009). Extinct animals : an encyclopedia of species that have disappeared during human history. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-34987-4. OCLC 268789581.