Tag Archives: Heptaxodontidae

Quemisia gravis Miller

Twisted-toothed Mouse (Quemisia gravis)

The Twisted-toothed Mouse was described in 1929 based on subfossil remains, mainly teeth, which were recovered from cave deposits found both in the Dominican Republic as well as in Haiti, Hispaniola.

The species must have reached a size of 60 to 80 cm in length and might have weighed as much as about 20 kg.

There are contemporary reports from the 16th century which tell us of an animal called Quemi that was hunted and eaten by the native people of Hispaniola; these reports may refer to this species or maybe to the Hispaniolan Hutia (Plagiodontia aedium (F. Cuvier), a species that still exists.

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edited: 05.05.2022

Tainotherium valei Turvey et al.

Taino Hutia (Tainotherium valei)  

The Taino Hutia was described in 2006 based of subfossil remains found on the island of Puerto Rico.  

The species has been tentatively assigned to the family Heptaxodontidae but in the absence of any cranial or dental material, its familial relationships must remain conjectural. [1]  

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References:  

[1] S. T. Turvey; F. V. Grady; P. Rye: A new genus and species of ‘giant hutia’ (Tainotherium valei) from the Quaternary of Puerto Rico: an extinct arboreal quadruped? Journal of Zoology 270(4): 585-594. 2006  

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edited: 06.09.2019