Black-tailed hutia

The black-tailed hutia (Mesocapromys melanurus), also known as the bushy-tailed hutia, is a small, furry, rat-like mammal found only in Cuba. It lives in lowland moist forests and is threatened by habitat loss.^[2] It is a member of the hutia subfamily (Capromyinae), a group of rodents native to the Caribbean that are mostly endangered or extinct.

Black-tailed hutia
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Echimyidae
Tribe:	Capromyini
Genus:	Mesocapromys
Species:	M. melanurus
Binomial name
Mesocapromys melanurus (Poey, 1865)
Synonyms
arboricolus Kratochvíl, Rodriguez, & Barus, 1978 rufescens Mohr, 1839 Mysateles melanurus (Poey, 1865)

Although it was formerly classified in the genus Mysateles, phylogenetic evidence supports it belonging to the genus Mesocapromys.^[3]