Blunt-toothed Giant Hutia

Open encyclopedia reference

The blunt-toothed giant hutia (Amblyrhiza inundata) is an extinct species of giant hutia from Anguilla and Saint Martin that is estimated to have weighed between 50 and 200 kg (110 and 440 lb). It was discovered by Edward Drinker Cope in 1868 in a sample of phosphate sediments mined in an unknown cave (possibly Cavannagh Cave) in Anguilla and sent to Philadelphia to estimate the value of the sediments. It is the sole species of the genus Amblyrhiza in the fossil family Heptaxodontidae.

Some authors have suggested that its extinction may have resulted from overhunting by pre-Columbian humans. However, it is unknown whether this species was contemporaneous with human populations. Fossil specimens discovered at the end of the 20th century on Anguilla have been dated to the last interstadial period, while very recent discoveries made on Coco Islet (Saint-Barthélemy) are dated to 400,000 - 500,000 years; no bone has been recovered yet from a pre-Columbian archaeological site. Despite being described as a "giant hutia", it has recently been recovered as a member of the Chinchilloidea.

Wikipedia contributors, Blunt-toothed giant hutia; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:01:38.685774+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Amblyrhiza inundata Cope, 1868

Name authority

Cope, 1868

Common name

Blunt-toothed Giant Hutia

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Rodentia

Family

Heptaxodontidae

Genus

Amblyrhiza

Extinction status

Recorded extinct

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. familyHeptaxodontidae Anthony, 1917
15. subfamilyHeptaxodontinae Anthony, 1917
16. genusAmblyrhiza Cope, 1868
17. speciesAmblyrhiza inundata Cope, 1868

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 4 records assigned to Heptaxodontidae.

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=584891 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:CNFH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.