Haitian Solenodon
Encyclopedia
The Hispaniolan solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus), also known as the Haitian solenodon or Agouta, is a solenodon found only on Hispaniola
, the island shared by Haiti
and the Dominican Republic
. It was unknown to science until 1833, when it was first described by Brandt
. A similar but smaller species, Marcano's solenodon
(S. marcanoi), once lived on the island, but became extinct after European colonization. All solenodon species belong to order Soricomorpha
and family Solenodontidae
.
. It weighs 0.6–1.0 kg. Head-and-body length is 28–33 cm and the tail is 25 cm. It has brownish-red fur on most of its body, with a paler underside. The tail, legs, snout and eartips are hairless. The forelegs are noticeably more developed than the hind legs, but all have strong claws useful for digging.
The head is very big in relation to its body, with a long rostrum
and tiny eyes and ears partially hidden by the body fur. A unique feature is the os proboscis, a bone on the tip of the rostrum that supports the snout cartilage. The dental formula for the species is 3/3, 1/1, 3/3, 3/3 = 40. The second lower incisor
has a narrow groove ("Solenodon" derives from the Greek
"grooved tooth"), through which flows a venomous saliva secreted by the submaxillary gland, making the solenodon one of only a handful of venomous mammals
.
Both sexes are similar. Males have an unexposed penis and the testes are hidden deep within the abdominal cavity. Females have an irregular estrus period that is apparently unrelated to seasonal changes; they may have two litters
of one to three young per year. Usually only two of the offspring survive, because the female only has two teats, which are found near her buttocks. The young are weaned after 75 days, but may sometimes remain with the parents while subsequent litters are born and raised, so that up to eight animals may share the same burrow. Solenodons may fight each other on first meeting, but eventually they establish a dominance relationship and live together in captivity in relative harmony.
A Hispaniolan solenodon has glands in the armpits and in the groin, which are said to give off a goat-like smell. It readily defends itself against one of its own kind and is apparently not immune to its own venom, since animals have been seen to die after fighting and sustaining minor wounds. It may also attack other animals savagely: a captive solenodon was reported to have attacked a young chicken and torn it to pieces with its strong claws before eating it. In moments of excitement it may grunt like a pig or give bird-like cries, but when pursued it stays motionless and hides its head, making it easy to capture.
One reason why the Hispaniolan solenodon was unknown to science for so long is that it is nocturnal, a consequence of which is its highly developed senses of hearing, smell and touch. Also, they are not very numerous, so their influence in an ecosystem
is practically nothing. During daylight hours they stay in their burrows
, trees, hollowed-out logs or caves, remaining hidden from view. When they do come out, they run on their toes with a stiff ungainly waddle, following an erratic, almost zigzag course. The local people claim that solenodons never run in a straight line. When a solenodon is alarmed and tries to move faster, it is very likely to trip.
Hispaniolan solenodons eat a wide variety of animals, including arthropod
s, worms, snails and small reptiles; they may also feed on roots, fruits and foliage, although a study found that they refused all forms of vegetation. They probe the earth with their snout and dig or rip open rotten logs with their claws. Solenodons in captivity have been seen to bathe often and to drink only when bathing.
The Hispaniolan solenodon's habitat is usually wooded or brushy areas, frequently close to developed agricultural land, where they can dig their complex underground burrows. Habitat loss and predation by introduced species
have contributed to making it an endangered species, whose numbers have dropped dramatically during the last decades. It was actually considered almost extinct until 1907, when it was found living in the interior of Hispaniola. It was not considered to be in immediate danger early in the twentieth century. In 1966 it was found in several localities in the Dominican Republic. As of 1981, after extensive searching, it was concluded that the Hispaniolan solenodon was "functionally extinct" in Haiti, persisting only in the remote mountains of the south. In 1987 it was still found in both countries, but was thought to be particularly threatened in Haiti. As of 1996, it could still be found in both countries. Wildlife filmmaker Jürgen Hoppe has been able to film the Hispaniolan solenodon in various parts of the Dominican Republic during the last 18 years. The most recent sightings in the wild (with video evidence) were during the summer of 2008, when a team of researchers from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
and the Ornithological Society of Hispaniola were able to trap an individual specimen. The researchers took physical measurements and DNA from it before releasing it back into the wild.
The Hispaniolan solenodon appears to have a patchy distribution. Populations are found both within and outside protected areas such as the Jaragua
, Del Este and Sierra de Baoruco National Parks. In Haiti it is reported from La Visite National Park
and the Duchity region of the Massif de la Hotte
. Its presence in Los Haitises National Park
in the Dominican Republic is inferred but unconfirmed.
(EDGE) project. A collaborative conservation project funded by the Darwin Initiative
(UK) was started in 2009 and is researching the species in order to conserve it.
The species is fully protected by law. However, national parks in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti are threatened by deforestation and encroachment for farming and charcoal production. The US Agency for International Development and the Nature Conservancy are working with local non-governmental organisations to improve protection and implement management plans for these parks (the "Parks in Peril" programme). A recovery plan for the isolated Haitian population published in 1992 advocated comprehensive surveys, improved management of the Pic Macaya National Park
, education campaigns, control of exotic mammals, and an ex situ breeding programme. These recommendations have not yet been implemented.
Two conservation research and education programmes funded by the Darwin Initiative
have recently been established, focusing on solenodons in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti: "Building evidence and capacity to conserve Hispaniola's endemic land mammals" (started 2009), and "Building a future for Haiti's unique vertebrates" (started 2010). These collaborative projects represent a partnership between the EDGE programme, the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, BirdLife International
, the Sociedad Ornitologica de la Hispaniola, the Dominican Republic National Zoo, Societe Audubon Haiti, and in-country project partners.
Hispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
, the island shared by Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
and the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
. It was unknown to science until 1833, when it was first described by Brandt
Johann Friedrich von Brandt
Johann Friedrich von Brandt was a German naturalist.Brandt was born in Jüterbog and educated at a gymnasium in Wittenberg and the University of Berlin. In 1831 he was appointed director of the Zoological Department at the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences, where he published in Russian...
. A similar but smaller species, Marcano's solenodon
Marcano's Solenodon
Marcano's Solenodon was a species of mammal in the family Solenodontidae. It is known only from skeletal remains found on the island of Hispaniola. The remains were found in association with those from rats of the genus Rattus, which suggests Marcano's Solenodon survived until the time of...
(S. marcanoi), once lived on the island, but became extinct after European colonization. All solenodon species belong to order Soricomorpha
Soricomorpha
The order Soricomorpha is taxon within the class of mammals. In previous years it formed a significant group within the former order Insectivora...
and family Solenodontidae
Solenodontidae
Solenodons are venomous, nocturnal, burrowing, insectivorous mammals belonging to the family Solenodontidae. Only one genus, Solenodon, is known, although a few other genera were erected at one time and are now regarded as junior synonyms...
.
Description and behaviour
The Hispaniolan solenodon looks much like an oversized shrewShrew
A shrew or shrew mouse is a small molelike mammal classified in the order Soricomorpha. True shrews are also not to be confused with West Indies shrews, treeshrews, otter shrews, or elephant shrews, which belong to different families or orders.Although its external appearance is generally that of...
. It weighs 0.6–1.0 kg. Head-and-body length is 28–33 cm and the tail is 25 cm. It has brownish-red fur on most of its body, with a paler underside. The tail, legs, snout and eartips are hairless. The forelegs are noticeably more developed than the hind legs, but all have strong claws useful for digging.
The head is very big in relation to its body, with a long rostrum
Rostrum (anatomy)
The term rostrum is used for a number of unrelated structures in different groups of animals:*In crustaceans, the rostrum is the forward extension of the carapace in front of the eyes....
and tiny eyes and ears partially hidden by the body fur. A unique feature is the os proboscis, a bone on the tip of the rostrum that supports the snout cartilage. The dental formula for the species is 3/3, 1/1, 3/3, 3/3 = 40. The second lower incisor
Incisor
Incisors are the first kind of tooth in heterodont mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and mandible below.-Function:...
has a narrow groove ("Solenodon" derives from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
"grooved tooth"), through which flows a venomous saliva secreted by the submaxillary gland, making the solenodon one of only a handful of venomous mammals
Venomous mammals
Venomous mammals are animals of the class Mammalia that produce venom, which they use to kill or disable prey, or to defend themselves from predators. In modern nature, venomous mammals are quite rare. Venom is much more common among other vertebrates; there are many more species of venomous...
.
Both sexes are similar. Males have an unexposed penis and the testes are hidden deep within the abdominal cavity. Females have an irregular estrus period that is apparently unrelated to seasonal changes; they may have two litters
Litter (animal)
A litter is the offspring at one birth of animals from the same mother and usually from one set of parents. The word is most often used for the offspring of mammals, but can be used for any animal that gives birth to multiple young. In comparison, a group of eggs and the offspring that hatch from...
of one to three young per year. Usually only two of the offspring survive, because the female only has two teats, which are found near her buttocks. The young are weaned after 75 days, but may sometimes remain with the parents while subsequent litters are born and raised, so that up to eight animals may share the same burrow. Solenodons may fight each other on first meeting, but eventually they establish a dominance relationship and live together in captivity in relative harmony.
A Hispaniolan solenodon has glands in the armpits and in the groin, which are said to give off a goat-like smell. It readily defends itself against one of its own kind and is apparently not immune to its own venom, since animals have been seen to die after fighting and sustaining minor wounds. It may also attack other animals savagely: a captive solenodon was reported to have attacked a young chicken and torn it to pieces with its strong claws before eating it. In moments of excitement it may grunt like a pig or give bird-like cries, but when pursued it stays motionless and hides its head, making it easy to capture.
One reason why the Hispaniolan solenodon was unknown to science for so long is that it is nocturnal, a consequence of which is its highly developed senses of hearing, smell and touch. Also, they are not very numerous, so their influence in an ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
is practically nothing. During daylight hours they stay in their burrows
Burrows
Burrows is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created by redistribution in 1957, and formally came into existence in the provincial election of 1958. The riding is located in the northern part of Winnipeg....
, trees, hollowed-out logs or caves, remaining hidden from view. When they do come out, they run on their toes with a stiff ungainly waddle, following an erratic, almost zigzag course. The local people claim that solenodons never run in a straight line. When a solenodon is alarmed and tries to move faster, it is very likely to trip.
Hispaniolan solenodons eat a wide variety of animals, including arthropod
Arthropod
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
s, worms, snails and small reptiles; they may also feed on roots, fruits and foliage, although a study found that they refused all forms of vegetation. They probe the earth with their snout and dig or rip open rotten logs with their claws. Solenodons in captivity have been seen to bathe often and to drink only when bathing.
Ecology
Because of a lack of natural enemies, the Hispaniolan solenodon did not evolve defenses against predators and it is a slow, clumsy runner. When feral dog and cat populations started to become established and Small Asian mongooses (specifically subspecies Herpestes javanicus auropunctatus) were introduced to control rats in sugar cane fields, its future was jeopardized.The Hispaniolan solenodon's habitat is usually wooded or brushy areas, frequently close to developed agricultural land, where they can dig their complex underground burrows. Habitat loss and predation by introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
have contributed to making it an endangered species, whose numbers have dropped dramatically during the last decades. It was actually considered almost extinct until 1907, when it was found living in the interior of Hispaniola. It was not considered to be in immediate danger early in the twentieth century. In 1966 it was found in several localities in the Dominican Republic. As of 1981, after extensive searching, it was concluded that the Hispaniolan solenodon was "functionally extinct" in Haiti, persisting only in the remote mountains of the south. In 1987 it was still found in both countries, but was thought to be particularly threatened in Haiti. As of 1996, it could still be found in both countries. Wildlife filmmaker Jürgen Hoppe has been able to film the Hispaniolan solenodon in various parts of the Dominican Republic during the last 18 years. The most recent sightings in the wild (with video evidence) were during the summer of 2008, when a team of researchers from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust is a conservation organisation with a mission to save species from extinction.Gerald Durrell founded the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust as a charitable institution in 1963 with the Dodo as its symbol...
and the Ornithological Society of Hispaniola were able to trap an individual specimen. The researchers took physical measurements and DNA from it before releasing it back into the wild.
The Hispaniolan solenodon appears to have a patchy distribution. Populations are found both within and outside protected areas such as the Jaragua
Jaragua National Park
Jaragua National Park is a national park of the Dominican Republic. Jaragua National Park is located in Pedenales Province in the extreme southwest of the Dominican Republic...
, Del Este and Sierra de Baoruco National Parks. In Haiti it is reported from La Visite National Park
La Visite National Park
Parc National La Visite is one of the two national parks of the Republic of Haiti. The park covers approximately , consisting mainly of pine forest, grasslands, and some montane broadleaf forest at an altitude above ....
and the Duchity region of the Massif de la Hotte
Massif de la Hotte
The Massif de la Hotte is a mountain range in southwestern Haiti, on the far-western end of the Tiburon Peninsula. The region is relatively remote and is one of the most biologically diverse and significant areas of all of Hispaniola. It also supports some of the last stands of Haiti's dense cloud...
. Its presence in Los Haitises National Park
Los Haitises National Park
Los Haitises National Park is a national park located on the remote northeast coast of the Dominican Republic. It is a protected virgin forest with little road access. The number of tourists allowed is limited, but since 2000 it has been a relatively popular destination for ecotourism...
in the Dominican Republic is inferred but unconfirmed.
Conservation
The Hispaniolan solenodon was identified as one of the top ten "focal species" in 2007 by the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally EndangeredEDGE Species
Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered species represent a disproportionate amount of unique evolutionary history. They have few close relatives and are often extremely unusual in the way they look, live and behave...
(EDGE) project. A collaborative conservation project funded by the Darwin Initiative
Darwin Initiative
The Darwin Initiative is a UK Government funding program that aims to assist countries with rich biodiversity but poor financial resources to meet their objectives under the Convention on Biological Diversity ; the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ;...
(UK) was started in 2009 and is researching the species in order to conserve it.
The species is fully protected by law. However, national parks in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti are threatened by deforestation and encroachment for farming and charcoal production. The US Agency for International Development and the Nature Conservancy are working with local non-governmental organisations to improve protection and implement management plans for these parks (the "Parks in Peril" programme). A recovery plan for the isolated Haitian population published in 1992 advocated comprehensive surveys, improved management of the Pic Macaya National Park
Pic Macaya National Park
Parc National Pic Macaya is one of two national parks of the Republic of Haiti. It is located in the southern part of the country, and features the country's last stand of virgin cloud forest...
, education campaigns, control of exotic mammals, and an ex situ breeding programme. These recommendations have not yet been implemented.
Two conservation research and education programmes funded by the Darwin Initiative
Darwin Initiative
The Darwin Initiative is a UK Government funding program that aims to assist countries with rich biodiversity but poor financial resources to meet their objectives under the Convention on Biological Diversity ; the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ;...
have recently been established, focusing on solenodons in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti: "Building evidence and capacity to conserve Hispaniola's endemic land mammals" (started 2009), and "Building a future for Haiti's unique vertebrates" (started 2010). These collaborative projects represent a partnership between the EDGE programme, the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, BirdLife International
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
, the Sociedad Ornitologica de la Hispaniola, the Dominican Republic National Zoo, Societe Audubon Haiti, and in-country project partners.
External links
- EDGE of Existence "(Hispaniolan solenodon)" Saving the World's most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species
- the last survivors conservation project
- Eladio M. Fernández - Caribbean Nature Photography
- Picture of S. paradoxus Best photo available on the web.
- Animal Info - Haitian Solenodon
- Film of Hispaniolan Solenodon
- BBC article with video
