The Jamaican coney (''Geocapromys brownii''), also known as the Jamaican hutia or Brown's hutia, is a small,

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

, rat-like

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

found only on the island of

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. About the size of a rabbit, it lives in group nests and is active at night to feed on fruit, bark, and other plant matter. It is currently endangered by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

, and non-native species; it persists only in remote mountains. The Jamaican coney belongs to the hutia subfamily ( Capromyinae) and is the only surviving native mammal on Jamaica other than bats.

Description

The Jamaican coney is generally about the size of a

cottontail rabbit Cottontail rabbits are in the ''Sylvilagus'' genus, which is in the family Leporidae. They are found in the Americas. Most ''Sylvilagus'' species have stub tails with white undersides that show when they retreat, giving them their characterist ...

, and mature adults usually weigh between 1 and 2 kg.' It is reddish brown/yellowish brown in colour, and ranges in size from about 330 to 445 mm in length. It has the smallest tail of all the species in the genus (approximately 45mm). It has a large head (the largest in the genus), short legs, short tail, and short ears and neck. It has large, robust

incisors Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, wher ...

and hypsodont cheekteeth.

Distribution and habitat

''G. brownii'' only occurs in Jamaica, mainly in the more remote locations and mountainous regions. They have been found from as far east as the John Crow and Blue Mountains of Portland and the St. Thomas Parishes in the east of the island, to as far west as the Harris Savannah and the Brazilletto Mountains in

Clarendon Parish, Jamaica Clarendon () is a Parishes of Jamaica, parish in Jamaica. It is located on the south of the island, roughly halfway between the island's eastern and western ends. Located in the Parishes of Jamaica#Counties of Jamaica, county of Middlesex Count ...

Ecology and behaviour

Jamaican hutias are almost exclusively

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

mammals. As night foragers, they feed on a large variety of food sources, including fruits, exposed roots, bark, and the

foliage A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, f ...

from many different plant species. The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has classified it as an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

. Observations of captive specimens note that Jamaican hutias do not build their own nests. They have strong social interactions between related individuals, which can include mutual grooming, play, and soft vocalizations when not in physical contact which each other. They have a semi-

plantigrade 151px, Portion of a human skeleton, showing plantigrade habit In terrestrial animals, plantigrade locomotion means walking with the toes and metatarsals flat on the ground. It is one of three forms of locomotion adopted by terrestrial mammals. ...

stance, and are excellent climbers and jumpers, often using their front incisors for grip and leverage.

Reproduction

Little is known of how the Jamaican hutia reproduces in the wild, but observations from captive specimens show that the females reach maturity in about one year, while males tend to reach maturity at a somewhat older age. Females usually give birth and average of 2 litters per year, with about two offspring per litter. The average gestation period is 123 days. The young are born extremely

precocial Precocial species in birds and mammals are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. They are normally nidifugous, meaning that they leave the nest shortly after birth or hatching. Altricial ...

, and can walk at birth as well as eat adult foods within about 30 hours of birth.

References

Hutias Geocapromys Endemic fauna of Jamaica Mammals of Jamaica Coney, Jamaican Mammals described in 1829 Taxa named by Johann Baptist Fischer {{rodent-stub