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]

References

1. Kennerley, R.; Young, R.; Turvey, S.T. & Borotto-Páez, R. (2018). "Mysateles melanurus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T14256A22187606. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T14256A22187606.en. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
2. "Mesocapromys melanurus (Poey, 1865)". ASM Mammal Diversity Database. American Society of Mammalogists. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
3. Fabre, Pierre-Henri; Upham, Nathan S.; Emmons, Louise H.; Justy, Fabienne; Leite, Yuri L. R.; Loss, Ana Carolina; Orlando, Ludovic; Tilak, Marie-Ka; Patterson, Bruce D.; Douzery, Emmanuel J. P. (2016-12-25). "Mitogenomic phylogeny, diversification, and biogeography of South American spiny rats". Molecular Biology and Evolution: msw261. doi:10.1093/molbev/msw261. ISSN 0737-4038.

• Woods, C.A.; Kilpatrick, C.W. (2005). "Infraorder Hystricognathi". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 1538–1600. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.