The Gran Canaria giant rat (Canariomys tamarani) is an extinct species of rat endemic to the island of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain).
| Gran Canaria giant rat Temporal range: Holocene
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| Fossils in Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Muridae |
| Genus: | †Canariomys |
| Species: | †C. tamarani
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| Binomial name | |
| †Canariomys tamarani Lopez-Martinez & Telesfóro Bravo
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This rodent is known from Holocene to pre-Hispanic fossil remains found at several places on the island of Gran Canaria, the youngest of which have been dated to shortly before the beginning of the Common Era.[1] This species was previously listed in the 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as extinct, but was removed from the list because it is now considered to have gone extinct before 1500 CE.[citation needed]
The giant rat was herbivorous and terrestrial, with some digging skills and the ability to climb trees.[2]
The giant rat had an estimated typical head-and-body length of 28.7 cm (11.3 in) and tail length of 20 cm (7.9 in);[2] its average body weight is believed to have been in the 0.75–1.35 kg (26–48 oz) range.[3]
Another giant rat of the Canary Islands was the Tenerife giant rat, Canariomys bravoi. It is believed that the arrival of humans and the introduction of feral dogs led to the extinction of both species.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Musser, G. G.; Carleton, M. D. (2005). "Superfamily Muroidea". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 1357. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ a b Michaux, Jacques; Hautier, Lionel; Hutterer, Rainer; Lebrun, Renaud; Guy, Franck; García-Talavera, Francisco (1 October 2012). "Body shape and life style of the extinct rodent Canariomys bravoi (Mammalia, Murinae) from Tenerife, Canary Islands (Spain)". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 11 (7): 485–494. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2012.06.004. ISSN 1631-0683.
- ^ a b Michaux, J.; López-Martínez, N.; Hernández-Pachero, J. J. (1996). "A 14C dating of Canariomys bravoi (Mammalia, Rodentia), the extinct giant rat from Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain), and the recent history of the endemic mammals in the archipelago". Vie et Milieu. 46: 261–266.