Animal Info - Dwarf Hutia

(Other Names: Jutia Enana)

Mesocapromys nanus (Capromys nanus (=nana), Geocapromys n.)

Status: Critically Endangered

1. Profile (Picture)
2. Tidbits
3. Status and Trends (IUCN Status, Countries Where Currently Found, History of Distribution, Threats and Reasons for Decline)
4. Data on Biology and Ecology (Habitat, Birth Rate)
5. References

Profile

Pictures: Related Species: Bahamas Hutia (7 Kb JPEG) and Jamaican Hutia (8 Kb JPEG)

The dwarf hutia was formerly found throughout Cuba, but it now occurs only on dry islets in the Zapata Swamp on the Zapata Peninsula in south-central Cuba. It has not been sighted since the 1930's, but it is believed to survive because its tracks and feces have been seen recently. The causes of the dwarf hutia's decline in the past included habitat loss through agricultural activities (including charcoal production) and predation by the introduced mongoose.

Tidbits

*** The dwarf hutia is the smallest of the hutias.

Status and Trends

IUCN Status:

1960's: Endangered
1970's: Rare
1982 - 1994: Endangered
1996 - 2004: Critically Endangered (Criteria: B1+2de) (IUCN 2004)

Countries Where the Dwarf Hutia Is Currently Found:

2004: Occurs in Cuba (IUCN 2004).

History of Distribution:

The dwarf hutia was formerly found throughout Cuba, but it now occurs only in the Zapata Swamp on the Zapata Peninsula in south-central Cuba. It has not been sighted since the 1930's, but it is believed to survive because its tracks and feces have been seen recently (Alvarez & Gonzalez 1991).

Distribution Map (12 Kb) (InfoNatura)

Threats and Reasons for Decline:

The causes of the dwarf hutia's decline in the past included habitat loss through agricultural activities (including charcoal production) and predation by the introduced mongoose.

Data on Biology and Ecology

Habitat:

The dwarf hutia lives on dry islets in the Zapata Swamp.

The dwarf hutia is one of the species that live in both the Caribbean Biodiversity Hotspot (Cons. Intl. 2005) and the Greater Antillean Moist Forests Global 200 Ecoregion. (Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999)

Birth Rate:

The dwarf hutia apparently has only 1 young per birth.

References

Alvarez & Gonzalez 1991, Burton & Pearson 1987, Cons. Intl. 2005, Curry-Lindahl 1972, InfoNatura, IUCN 1969, IUCN 1994, IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000, IUCN 2003a, IUCN 2004, Lidicker 1989, Nowak 1999, Nowak & Paradiso 1983, Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999, Oryx 1972e

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Last modified: August 1, 2006;