The Cuban coney (''Geocapromys columbianus'') is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

in the subfamily Capromyinae. It was

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s were lowlands moist forests, xeric shrublands and rocky areas. Some scientists indicate that this species may have survived and coexisted with introduced

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...

species from the

Old World The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...

until approximately 1500, while others indicate that it became extinct earlier in the

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

.Fabre, P.-H., Upham, N. S., Emmons, L. H., Justy, F., Leite, Y. L. R., Loss, A. C., Orlando, L., Tilak, M.-K., Patterson, B. D., and Douzery, E. J. P. (2017). Mitogenomic Phylogeny, Diversification, and Biogeography of South American Spiny Rats. Molecular Biology and Evolution. 34 (3): 613–633. Accessed at https://www.mammaldiversity.org/explore.html#genus=Geocapromys&species=columbianus&id=1001378.

Sources

Geocapromys Holocene extinctions Extinct rodents Extinct animals of Cuba Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Fossil taxa described in 1892 Mammals described in 1892 Mammals of the Caribbean Endemic fauna of Cuba Taxa named by Frank Chapman (ornithologist) {{rodent-stub