Little Swan Island hutia
| Little Swan Island hutia | |
|---|---|
.JPG) |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Suborder: | Hystricomorpha |
| Family: | Capromyidae |
| Genus: | Geocapromys |
| Species: | †G. thoracatus |
| Binomial name | |
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Geocapromys thoracatus (True, 1888) |
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The Little Swan Island hutia (Geocapromys thoracatus) is an extinct species of rodent that lived on the Swan Islands, off north-eastern Honduras in the Caribbean. It was a slow-moving, guinea-pig-like rodent and probably emerged from caves and limestone crevices to forage on bark, small twigs and leaves.
It may have been a subspecies of the Jamaican hutia (Geocapromys browni), whose ancestors were carried to the island from Jamaica, 5000–7000 years ago. It was fairly common in the early 20th century, but disappeared after a severe hurricane (Hurricane Janet) in 1955, followed by the introduction of house cats to the island.
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