The Species
Museum display showing some of the Caribbean land mammals. Two of the mammals shown in the display have become extinct since these specimens were collected in the early twentieth century. (Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University)
Since the mid-1800s, the discovery of ancient animal remains from caves and archaeological sites across the Caribbean have revealed that the islands of the West Indies were home to a diverse and remarkable land mammal fauna during the Late Quaternary (the most recent interval of geological time). New species of extinct Caribbean mammals continue to be discovered and described on the basis of fossil remains, and it is estimated that around 120 endemic land mammals were found across the region in the recent past. In this section of the website, we provide a checklist of the described mammal extinctions of the Caribbean and of the 15 or so “last survivors“. We also summarise what is known about the the natural history and status of the Hispaniolan solenodon and hutia and analyse their main threats.
