Puerto Rican nesophontes

Puerto Rican nesophontes[1]

Extinct  (1500s)  (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Eulipotyphla
Family: Nesophontidae
Genus: Nesophontes
Species: N. edithae
Binomial name
Nesophontes edithae
Anthony, 1916

The Puerto Rican nesophontes (Nesophontes edithae), or Puerto Rican shrew, is an extinct soricomorph endemic to Puerto Rico.

It is believed that the animal was never observed by Europeans. Contemporary fossils with indigenous artifacts and introduced rat fossils indicate survival into the colonial era, possibly until the 16th century. The shrew lived in the island montane forest/brush endemic to western Puerto Rico and was an insectivore. There are fossil specimens located in London. It disappeared after introduction of rats and due to the destruction of its forest habitat.

References

  1. ↑ Hutterer, R. (2005). "Order Soricomorpha". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ↑ Turvey, S. & Helgen, K. (2008). "Nesophontes edithae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2008. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 6 January 2009.

See also


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