MAMMALS
Bahamian Hutia
Mammals are generally defined as a group of homeothermic tetrapods characterized by the presence of hair or fur, lactation, a developed neocortex region in the brain, and the possession of three middle ear bones. This group can be divided into three principal categories: Placental, Marsupial, and Monotremes. The Mammal Diversity Database currently lists 6,801 mammalian species, of which the highest diversity is found within the Indomalayan, Austra-Oceania, and Neotropical regions.
Mammalian diversity in the Greater Antilles was significantly greater at the onset of the Holocene Epoch, with an estimated 116 species. Today, this richness has dramatically declined, with the West Indies, in particular, experiencing the highest global rate of extinction among non-volant (non flying) mammals since the 1500s, accounting for approximately 38% of all recorded mammalian extinctions. Of the region’s endemic terrestrial mammals, only 15 species persist, comprising 13 hutias and two solenodons. Cuba harbors the greatest diversity of hutias (10 species), while both Cuba and Hispaniola are home to the surviving solenodons—the Cuban (Solenodon cubanus) and Hispaniolan (Solenodon paradoxus).
In contrast to the plight of non-volant mammals, bats are the most species-rich mammal group in the West Indies, with 56 extant species, and over 50% of which are endemic to the region. Ten species occur in The Bahamas:
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Brazilian Free-tailed Bat (Tadarida brasiliensis)
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Bahama Funnel-eared Bat (Chilonatalus tumidifrons)
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Gervai’s Funnel-eared Bat (Nyctiellus lepidus)
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Fishing Bat (Noctilio leporinus)
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Jamaican Fruit Bat (Artibeus jamaicensis)
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Buffy Flower Bat (Erophylla sezekorni)
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Big-eared Bat (Macrotus waterhousii)
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Greater Antillean Long-tongued Bat (Monophyllus redmani)
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Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus)
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Minor Red Bat (Lasiurus minor)
Red Bat (deceased)
Buffy Flower Bat
The families of native terrestrial mammals include:
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Capromyidae
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Natalidae
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Noctilionidae
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Molossidae
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Phyllostomidae
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Vespertilionidae​
The Bahamas is home to two endemic mammal species.
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Bahamian Hutia (Geocapromys ingrahami)
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Bahama Funnel-eared Bat
