2. The Cuban Solenodon ( Solenodon cubanus ) or as usually it is known: Almiqui, has small eyes and dark brown to black hair. It is sometimes compared to a shrew, although it most closely resembles members of the family Tenrecidae including hedgehogs, shrews, opossums, mice and even otters. The Cuban Solenodon measures 16 - 22 inches (40 - 55 centimetres) long from nose to tail with an extremely elongated snout and a long, naked, scaly tail. The Cuban Solenodon weighs around 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds).
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4. The Cuban Solenodon is found in dense, humid forests and brush country, as well as around plantations and brush country to elevations of 2000 m. . Until relatively recently the species was widely distributed in both the eastern and western ends of Cuba, although it appears to have been largely absent from the centre of the island. Today it is limited to Oriente Province at the eastern end of Cuba.
5. By 1970, some thought that the Cuban solenodon had become extinct, since no specimens had been found since 1890. However, three were captured in 1974 and 1975, and subsequent surveys showed that it still occurred in many places in central and western Oriente Province, at the eastern end of Cuba. However, it is rare everywhere. Introduction of the Burmese mongoose into Cuba is believed to have accounted for the near-extermination of the solenodon. Currently, feral cats are probably the greatest threat, since the areas the solenodon inhabits now is not good mongoose habitat. In addition to predation by introduced predators, habitat loss is also a factor contributing to the solenodon's rarity. The Cuban solenodon is not hunted for food for human. Just exist as 25 Specimens About the species The solenodons diverged from all other mammal groups an incredible 76 million years ago and were, Although the Cuban Solenodon is not yet extinct, it is still an endangered species because it only breeds a single litter of one to three in a year and because of predation by species that were introduced by humans. Classified as Endangered (EN A1cde) on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
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7. Baillie, J. 1996. Solenodon cubanus . In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . Fa, J. E., Soy, J. P., Capote, R., Martýnez, M., Fernandez, I., Avila, A., Rodrýguez, D., Rodrýguez, A., Cejas, F., and and Brull, G. 2002. Biodiversity of Sierra del Cristal, Cuba: first insights. Oryx 36(4): 389-395. http://www.animalinfo.org/species/solecuba.htm http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0311/feature4/ http://www.ask.com/bar?q=Cuban+endangered+animals+list&page=1&qsrc=2417&ab=0&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.earthsendangered.com%2Fsearch-regions3.asp%3Fsearch%3D1%26sgroup%3Dallgroups%26ID%3D100 Nowak, R.M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Sixth edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London. Roca, A. L., Bar-Gal, G. K., Eizirik, E., Helgen, K. M., Maria, R., Springer, M. S., O’Brien, S. J. & Murphy, W. J. 2004. Mezozoic origin for West Indian insectivores. Nature 429: 649-651. Distribution map based on data provided by the IUCN Global Mammal Assessment. http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/venanimals/ven_mammalsSol.html www.nationalgeographic.com
