A unique and diverse albeit phylogenetically restrictedmammal fauna[note 1] is known from theCaribbean region. The region—specifically, all islands in theCaribbean Sea (except for small islets close to the continental mainland) and theBahamas,Turks and Caicos Islands, andBarbados, which are not in the Caribbean Sea butbiogeographically belong to the sameCaribbean bioregion—has been home to severalfamilies found nowhere else, but much of this diversity is now extinct.
Thebat faunas of much of the Caribbean show similarities that led to the proposal of a distinct Caribbean faunal region, bounded by "Koopman's Line". This region excludes several of the region's islands, including theGrenadines,Grenada,Trinidad,Tobago, and other islands near the American mainland, such asMargarita,Isla Escudo de Veraguas,Rosario Islands,Cozumel, and theFlorida Keys.[1] The faunas of islands outside Koopman's Line are similar to those of the adjacent mainland, though usually smaller; in contrast, the region inside Koopman's Line harbors relatively few species shared with the mainland and many of its species belong to endemic genera, subfamilies, and even families.
Excluding bats, nearly 90% of the mammals of the Caribbean faunal region have gone extinct since the latePleistocene,[2] including all thesloths andmonkeys, the unique insectivoreNesophontes, two of four species ofsolenodon, and a variety of rodents including allgiant hutias, leaving only a fewhutia species extant.[3] Most of these species (the sloths, monkeys, andcaviomorph rodents) were ofSouth American origin. Theoryzomyine rodents were of ultimately ofNearctic origin, but except for those onJamaica would also have reached the Caribbean via South America. The origin(s) of the Caribbeaneulipotyphlans are uncertain.[4]
Non-flying mammals of Cenozoic origin must have colonized the Caribbean islands by some combination ofrafting and/or use of a "land span" (a temporaryland bridge connecting South America with one or more off-shelf islands).[5][6][7] Colonization of a series of islands can occur either by aniterative rafting process ("island-hopping"), or by colonization of a large ancestral island which is then subdivided by into smaller islands by subsequent geologic or sea level changes (island-islandvicariance).[8] The restricted, unbalanced nature of the Caribbean mammal fauna implies that rafting was part of the overall process.[6][7] This is consistent with the fact thatmegalonychid sloths,platyrrhine monkeys and caviomorph rodents have all shown a capacity for this type of dispersal (in their colonization ofNorth America from South America prior to the formation of theIsthmus of Panama in the first case, and of South America fromAfrica in latter two cases). These three groups are known in the Caribbean from fossils as old as the earlyOligocene, earlyMiocene and early Miocene, respectively. Rafting is also consistent with the prevailing flow of oceanic currents from South America towards the islands.[7]
The large proportion of extinctions can be attributed to the isolated and therefore somewhat less competitive nature of the islands' ecosystems, and to the fact thatcarnivorans never colonized most of the region. These factors made the islands' native fauna particularly vulnerable to disruption by humans[9] and theinvasive species they introduced. The largepredatorniches of the Caribbean islands were formerly occupied by endemic outsize hawks, falcons,caracaras,teratorns and owls, such asTitanohierax,Gigantohierax,Buteogallus borrasi,Caracara tellustris,Oscaravis olsoni,Ornimegalonyx andTyto pollens - all of which are now extinct.Cuban crocodiles also have more terrestrial habits than other extant crocodilians.
Opossums (order Didelphimorphia), the largest group of Americanmarsupials,[10] are of limited diversity in the Caribbean. The large opossumDidelphis marsupialis is found onTrinidad andTobago[11] and in theWindward Islands up toDominica, being found onMartinique,Saint Lucia,Saint Vincent,Grenada, and theGrenadines ofCarriacou,Mustique, andBequia.[12] At least some of the latter populations may have been introduced by humans.[13] In Central America, it is also found on the islands ofCozumel, Mexico, andRoatán, Honduras.[14] The smallerMarmosa robinsoni is also known from Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada, and Roatán, but the classification of Central American populations of this species is unclear.[15] In addition,Marmosa murina is known from Trinidad and Tobago,[16]Marmosops fuscatus[17] andChironectes minimus[18] from Trinidad only, andCaluromys philander from Trinidad and the Venezuelan island ofMargarita.[19] A related species,Caluromys derbianus, is known from the smallPanamanian island ofEscudo de Veraguas.[20]
Armadillos (order Cingulata) include about 20 species, mostly in South America.[21] One species, thenine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) is known from Trinidad, Tobago, and Grenada.[22] An unspecified fossil armadillo has been recorded fromBonaire in theABC Islands.[23]
The orderPilosa includes thesloths andanteaters, about ten species of which survive in Central and South America.[24] Until the middleHolocene, theGreater Antilles and surrounding islands were home to at least as many species of sloths in four or more genera.[25] All of those are now extinct, with many last appearance dates coinciding roughly with the first arrival of humans.[26] The extinct Caribbean sloths were generally more terrestrial than extant sloths, although not exclusively so.[27] Some other pilosans are still found on islands along the margin of the Caribbean.[28]
The orderEulipotyphla includes thehedgehogs,gymnures,shrews,moles anddesmans, as well as two families known only from the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands.[29] One of the latter, that of thesolenodons, includes four known species, two of which are extinct and one of which are endangered, found onCuba andHispaniola.[30] Solenodons are only distantly related to other extant eulipotyphlans and may have split from them in theCretaceous.[31] They are not particularly closely related to the other Caribbean eulipotyphlan family,Nesophontidae; the two groups diverged more than 40 million years ago.[32] The latter family includes about ten species, all extinct, from Cuba, Hispaniola,Puerto Rico and nearby islands, and theCayman Islands. Several are known to have survived into the last millennium; some species' remains have been found withrat remains, suggesting they survived until European colonization, but their exact extinction dates are unknown.[33]
Bats (order Chiroptera) are diverse in the Caribbean, with over 60 species known from Trinidad alone. Six families—Phyllostomidae,Vespertilionidae,Molossidae,Natalidae,Mormoopidae, andNoctilionidae—are widespread in the Caribbean and three others—Furipteridae,Thyropteridae, andEmballonuridae—are restricted to islands close to the South and Central American mainland.[34] The family Natalidae, which is most diverse in the Antilles, may have originated in the area and is perhaps the oldest bat lineage of the Caribbean.[35] Some diverse clades in the phyllostomid subfamiliesGlossophaginae andStenodermatinae may also be Antillean in origin.[36] Although bats have not nearly been affected as much by extinctions as other Caribbean mammal lineages, about half of the Caribbean bat species have suffered either total or local extinction in recent times.[37]
Carnivorans (order Carnivora) are native only to islands at the margins of the Caribbean.
OnTrinidad, thetayra (Eira barbara), theneotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis), theocelot (Leopardus pardalis), and thecrab-eating raccoon (Procyon cancrivorus) have been recorded.[38]
Threecarnivorans are known from the island ofCozumel off eastern Mexico, all of which are diminutive in size relative to their mainland relatives.[39] TheCozumel coati (Nasua narica nelsoni) is a subspecies of thewhite-nosed coati,[40] but the raccoon is still classified as a distinct species, theCozumel raccoon (Procyon pygmaeus).[41] TheCozumel fox, related to the mainlandgray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), has yet to receive a scientific name.[39] Thekinkajou (Potos flavus) has been recorded a few times, but may not be native to the island.[42] Thegreater grison (Galictis vittata) has also been recorded, but apparently in error.[43]
Populations ofProcyon onNew Providence in the Bahamas,Guadeloupe, andBarbados have been regarded as endemic species, but these represent introductions of the common North Americanraccoon (Procyon lotor). Raccoons were also once present onCuba,Hispaniola, andJamaica, probably after being introduced by theTaíno, but were eventually extirpated there.[44][45]
Similarly, remains of domesticdogs (Canis familiaris) on Cuba have been described as separate genera and species,Cubacyon transversidens andIndocyon caribensis.[46]
Thesmall Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctata) has been widely introduced in the Caribbean from the 1870s onwards; it is known from Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (includingGonâve), Puerto Rico (includingVieques), the U.S. Virgin Islands (Saint Thomas,Saint John,Water Island,Lovango Cay, andSaint Croix), the British Virgin Islands (Tortola andBeef Island),Saint Martin,Saint Kitts and Nevis,Antigua,Guadeloupe (La Désirade andMarie Galante), Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Grenada, Barbados, and Trinidad.[47]
OnMargarita Island off the coast ofVenezuela, the only known carnivoran is the ocelot.
TheCaribbean monk seal was once native to the Caribbean until they went extinct since the last sighting was in 1952.
Artiodactyls include deer, antelope, cattle, pigs, camels, and related species, as well aswhales and dolphins.[48] A small form of thecollared peccary (Dicotyles tajacu) is known from Cozumel, and it also native to Trinidad.[49] Thewhite-lipped peccary has also been reported, but probably in error.[43] The latter has been introduced to Cuba, but is no longer extant there.[50] Thered brocket, a widespread South American deer, also occurs on Trinidad and Tobago.[49] The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) has been introduced to several localities in the Caribbean.[51][52][53]
Perissodactyls are the order of odd-toed ungulates, includinghorses,rhinos,tapirs and other extinct forms.[54] Fossils ofHyrachyus, a primitive perissodactyl also present inEurope andNorth America with affinities to early tapirs and rhinos, are known from theEocene ofJamaica.[55] This species probably reached Jamaica on a block of Central America carried eastward by the motion of theCaribbean Plate.[56]
The orderLagomorpha includes rabbits, hares, andpikas. There are few lagomorphs in the Caribbean, and they are either introduced or restricted to islands close to the mainland. TheEuropean hare (Lepus europaeus) has been introduced to Barbados.[57] A subspecies of theeastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus margaritae) occurs near Venezuela onAruba,Curaçao,Margarita, and the Islas de los Testigos.[58]
Caribbeanrodents (order Rodentia), are diverse, including several families. The fauna of the Greater Antilles mainly consists ofcaviomorphans, includinghutias,giant hutias, and a subfamily ofspiny rats (Heteropsomyinae). Of these, only some hutias survive.[59]Oryzomyines, part of a wholly distinct branch of the rodents, are known throughout the Lesser Antilles and on Jamaica, but are now also mostly extinct.[60] Various other rodents have been introduced or are known only from the fringes of the Caribbean region.
All indigenousprimates (order Primates) of the Caribbean areNew World monkeys (Platyrrhini), but Old World forms have been introduced. Five monkey species are known from the Greater Antilles, all extinct. They are classified together as the tribeXenotrichini, which is related to thetitis (Callicebus) of mainland South America. Three species—Xenothrix mcgregori from Jamaica, as well asAntillothrix bernensis andInsulacebus toussaintiana, both from Hispaniola — are known from the Quaternary and became extinct relatively recently (withA. bernensis lasting until the 1500s), while twoCuban species more related to thehowler monkeys,Paralouatta varonai, andParaloutta marianae are known from Domo de Zaza, anearly Miocene locality on Cuba.[61] Two monkeys,Alouatta macconnelli andCebus trinitatis, occur on Trinidad.[62]Ateles geoffroyi has been recorded from Cozumel, but probably incorrectly.[43] In theRosario Islands there are groups ofcotton-headed monkeys.Old World monkeys (Chlorocebus sabaeus andCercopithecus mona) have been introduced to some of the Lesser Antilles.[63]Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) have been introduced to a couple of islands off the coast ofPuerto Rico, namelyCayo Santiago andDesecheo Island.
The last survivors conservation project
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