Hispaniolan Hutia

Open encyclopedia reference

The Hispaniolan hutia (Plagiodontia aedium) is a small, rat-like mammal endemic to forests on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (split between Haiti and the Dominican Republic). It lives in burrows or trees, and is active at night when it feeds on roots and fruits. A member of the hutia subfamily (Capromyinae), Threats to the Hispaniolan hutia include habitat loss and introduced species, such as rats or feral dogs.

The Hispaniolan hutia is the only living species of the genus Plagiodontia; the other two species, also native to Hispaniola, are extinct. There are two subspecies, Cuvier's hutia (P. a. aedium) and the Dominican hutia (P. a. hylaeum). Though many mammals were once native to the island, only the Hispaniolan hutia and the shrew-like Hispaniolan solenodon, which shares the same forest habitat, are alive today.

Wikipedia contributors, Hispaniolan hutia; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:02:41.584609+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Plagiodontia aedium F. Cuvier, 1836

Name authority

F. Cuvier, 1836

Common name

Hispaniolan Hutia

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Rodentia

Family

Echimyidae

Genus

Plagiodontia

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
12. suborderHystricomorpha Brandt, 1855
13. infraorderHystricognathi Brandt, 1855
14. familyEchimyidae Gray, 1825
15. subfamilyCapromyinae Smith, 1842
16. tribePlagiodontini Ellerman, 1940
17. genusPlagiodontia F. Cuvier, 1836
18. speciesPlagiodontia aedium F. Cuvier, 1836

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Plagiodontia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 94 records assigned to Echimyidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=584881 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:4JFW3. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.