Abstract
Of the 116 mammal species present in the Greater Antilles at the start of the Holocene Epoch, only 56 now survive, with more extensive species losses (~80%) in native lineages of sloths, shrews, rodents, and primates than in bats (~25%). Native species occurrences and extinctions are summarized herein for Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico and used to introduce this Journal of Mammalogy Special Feature on insular Caribbean mammals. Recent efforts to understand extinct and extant Caribbean mammal diversity highlight the utility of paleobiological perspectives for exposing the trajectory of species losses and informing how best to protect remaining biodiversity in this region.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 913-917 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Journal of Mammalogy |
Volume | 98 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 1 2017 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Biodiversity hotspot
- Conservation
- Endemism
- Extinction
- Fossils
- Islands
- West Indies
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Ecology
- Animal Science and Zoology
- Genetics
- Nature and Landscape Conservation