One of the 2 solenodons on WAnimals
Mammals · Eulipotyphla · Solenodontidae
Cuban Solenodon
Solenodon cubanus
It faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. See full glossary
The Cuban solenodon — known locally as the almiquí — is an insectivore endemic to eastern Cuba and one of the rarest mammals in the Caribbean. It has an extremely long, flexible snout, hinged by a ball-and-socket joint unique among mammals, with which it searches for invertebrates under the leaf litter and in the cracks of the karst ground. Its lineage separated from the rest of the placental mammals tens of millions of years ago. It went for decades without any records and was given up for extinct several times before turning up again.
Weight
800 g – 1.1 kg
Size
28 cm – 39 cm
Lifespan
11 years
Diet
Insectivore
Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.
Activity
Nocturnal
Active mainly at night.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Hard
Fun facts
- conservaciónIt is one of the few venomous mammals in the world, was thought extinct several times before being rediscovered, and is reckoned a genuine living fossil.
- It is one of very few venomous mammals: it injects toxic saliva through a groove in its lower incisors, a mechanism much like that of some snakes.
- Its lineage separated from the rest of the placental mammals more than seventy million years ago, when the dinosaurs were still alive: it has no close living relatives apart from the Hispaniolan solenodon.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
- Habitat & environment
- Humid montane forest and karst scrub of eastern Cuba
- Gestation / incubation
- 3 months
- Litter / clutch size
- 1.5 (average)
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solenodon_cubanus
Where to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Cuban Solenodon — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Hispaniolan Solenodon
Solenodon paradoxus
Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat
Artibeus jamaicensis
Greater Bulldog Bat
Noctilio leporinus
Cuban Brown Anole
Anolis sagrei
Cuban Treefrog
Osteopilus septentrionalis
Cuban Boa
Chilabothrus angulifer
How to help
The cuban solenodon is classified as endangered. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 1 real protected area — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about cuban solenodon.
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