Amblyrhiza inundata
| Blunt-toothed giant hutia Temporal range: |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | †Heptaxodontidae |
| Genus: |
†Amblyrhiza Cope, 1868 |
| Species: | †A. inundata |
| Binomial name | |
|
Amblyrhiza inundata Cope, 1868 |
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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.
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