Pennatomys
| Pennatomys | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Cricetidae |
| Genus: |
†Pennatomys Turvey, Weksler, Morris, and Nokkert, 2010 |
| Species: | †P. nivalis |
| Binomial name | |
|
Pennatomys nivalis Turvey, Weksler, Morris, and Nokkert, 2010 |
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| Map of the northern Lesser Antilles indicating the three islands where Pennatomys has been found | |
Pennatomys nivalis is an extinct oryzomyine rodent from the islands of Sint Eustatius, Saint Kitts, and Nevis in the Lesser Antilles. The only species in the genus Pennatomys, it is known from skeletal remains found in Amerindian archeological sites on all three islands, with dates ranging from 790–520 BCE to 900–1200 CE. No live specimens are known, but there are several historical records of rodents from Saint Kitts and Nevis that could conceivably refer to Pennatomys. The animal apparently belongs to a group within the tribe Oryzomyini that includes many other island-dwelling species.
Pennatomys nivalis was a medium-sized species without many distinctive adaptations. The nasal bones were short and blunt-ended. The zygomatic plate, a bony plate at the side of the skull, was broad. The bony palate was long and flat. The root of the lower incisor was housed in a bony protuberance, the capsular process. The molars were low-crowned and possess accessory crests such as mesolophs. The upper molars all had three roots.
Oryzomyini, also known as rice rats, is a diverse grouping of North, Central, and South American rodents within the family Cricetidae. Remains of extinct rice rats are known throughout the Lesser Antilles, but the systematic relationships among those animals are poorly understood, and many species remain unnamed. Rice rat fossils were first recorded from Saint Kitts in 1907 by archeologist C.W. Branch and were later found in abundance in Amerindian archeological sites on nearby Nevis and Sint Eustatius. The rice rat of these islands was formally described and named as Pennatomys nivalis in a 2010 article by zoologist Samuel Turvey and coworkers. The generic name, Pennatomys, combines the Latin pennatus "winged" with -mys "mouse", a standard element in the names of rodent genera, and honors archeologist Elizabeth Wing. The specific name, nivalis, is Latin for "snowy" and refers to Nevis. This island's name derives from the Spanish Nuestra Señora de las Nieves "Our Lady of the Snows", a reference to the clouds (mistaken for snow) that surround the island's central peak.
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