The St. Michel nesophontes (''Nesophontes paramicrus'') 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 A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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 ...

in the family

Nesophontidae ''Nesophontes'', sometimes called West Indies shrews, is the sole genus of the extinct, monotypic mammal family Nesophontidae in the order Eulipotyphla. These animals were small insectivores, about 5 to 15 cm long, with a long slender snout ...

. 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 ...

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

(today Haiti and the Dominican Republic).

Taxonomy

A phylogenetic study in 2016, based on

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

extracted and carbon-dated from a specimen about 750 years old, suggests their nearest relatives are the

solenodon Solenodons (from , 'channel' or 'pipe' and , 'tooth') are venomous, nocturnal, burrowing, insectivorous mammals belonging to the family Solenodontidae . The two living solenodon species are the Cuban solenodon (''Atopogale cubana'') and t ...

s, although the two groups diverged more than 40 million years ago.

History

The type specimen was collected in Cueva de Bosque Humido,

Los Haitises National Park Los Haitises National Park is a national park located on the remote northeast coast of the Dominican Republic that was established in 1976. It consists of a limestone karst plateau with conical hills, sinkholes and caverns, and there is a large a ...

, Hato Mayor Province, Dominican Republic.

References

Nesophontes Holocene extinctions Mammals of Hispaniola Extinct animals of the Dominican Republic Mammals of the Dominican Republic Mammals of Haiti Mammals of the Caribbean Extinct animals of Haiti Mammals described in 1929 Mammal extinctions since 1500 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{eulipotyphla-stub