Capromys pilorides (Say, 1822)

Charles A. Woods, 1993, Order Rodentia - Suborder Hystricognathi, Mammal Species of the World (2 nd Edition), Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press, pp. 771-806 : 800

Capromys pilorides (Say, 1822) . Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 2:333.

TYPE LOCALITY: "South America or one of the West Indian islands."

DISTRIBUTION: Mainland Cuba, Isle of Youth, Archipiélago de las Doce Legunas, Archipiélago de Sabana, and many other islands and cays in the Cuban archipelago.

STATUS: Common (extremely abundant in some areas, including Guantanamo Bay Naval Base).

SYNONYMS: acevedo , doceleguas, gundlachianus, intermedius, pilorides , relictus.

COMMENTS: The first mention of this species name is as Mus pilorides Pallas 1778 , however, Tate (1935:309) noted that it is not associated with this genus. Sometimes placed in the subgenus Capromys ; see Hall (1981:863). This species is very variable in size, coloration, and habits. There are four named subspecies (doceleguas, gundlachianus, pilorides , and relictus; see Varona, 1983a:77), and one new subspecies currently being described from the south of the Isle of Youth (Borroto and Camacho, in litt.). Macrocapromys acevedo described by Arredondo (1958:10) is not distinct at the generic level, and is probably synonymous with pilorides.