Tag Archives: Cricetidae gen. & sp.

Cricetidae gen. & sp. ‘St. Martin’

St. Martin Rice Rat (Cricetidae gen. & sp.)

The St. Martin Rice Rat is known from subfossil remains that were recovered from an archaeological site named Hope Estate on the island of St. Martin/Sint Maarten in the Lesser Antilles. 

The species survived into the Holocene, most likely even well into the 19th century. [1]

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References:

[1] Elizabeth Reitz; C. Margaret Scarry; Sylvia J. Scudder: Case Studies in Environmental Archaeology (Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology). Springer; Second Edition 2007

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edited: 17.02.2020

Cricetidae gen. & sp. ‘Saba’

Saba Rice Rat (Cricetidae gen. & sp.)

The Saba Rice Rat is known from subfossil remains that were recovered from an archaeological site named Kelbey’s Ridge on the small island of Saba in the Caribbean Netherlands.

The remains of this species were dated to about 1290 to 1400 AD.. [1][2]

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References:

[1] Elizabeth Reitz; C. Margaret Scarry; Sylvia J. Scudder: Case Studies in Environmental Archaeology (Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology). Springer; Second Edition 2007
[2] S. T. Turvey: Holocene Extinctions. Oxford University Press, USA 2009

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edited: 17.02.2020

Cricetidae gen. & sp. ‘ Bonaire’

Bonaire Rice Rat (Cricetidae gen. & sp.)

This species is known from subfossil material that was found on the island of Bonaire offshore the northern coast of Venezuela, and that was dated to Late Holocene age. [1]

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References:

[1] S. T. Turvey: Holocene Extinctions. Oxford University Press, USA 2009

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edited: 17.02.2020

Cricetidae gen. & sp. A ‘Montserrat’

Large Montserrat Rice Rat (Cricetidae gen. & sp. A)

The Large Montserrat Rice Rat is an up to day undescribed species whose subfossil remains were found at an unnamed archaeological site on the island of Montserrat in the Lesser Antilles.

The species was sympatric with another closely related, yet smaller species which is likewise only known from subfossil remains. [1]

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References:

[1] Gregory K. Pregill; David W. Steadman; David R. Watters: Late Quaternary vertebrate faunas of the Lesser Antilles: historical components of Caribbean biogeography. Bulletin of Carnegie Museum of Natural History 30: 1-51. 1994

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edited: 17.02.2020

Cricetidae gen. & sp. ‘Carriacou’

Carriacou Rice Rat (Cricetidae gen. & sp.)

This undescribed small taxon is known on the basis of subfossil remains that were found in archaeological deposits on the island of Carriacou north of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles.

The remains may belong to an island endemic species or perhaps to the so called St. Vincent Pygmy Rice Rat (Oligoryzomys victus (Thomas)), a species that apparently was accidentally transported from somewhere on the South American mainland to the Antillean islands by pre-Columbian Amerindians. [1]

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References:

[1] Samuel T. Turvey; Marcelo Weksler; Elaine L. Morris; Mark Nokkert: Taxonomy, phylogeny, and diversity of the extinct Lesser Antillean rice rats (Sigmodontinae: Oryzomyini), with description of a new genus and species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 160(4): 748-772. 2010 

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edited: 02.12.2018