Hutia

Hutias (known in Spanish as jutía) are moderately large cavy-like rodents of the family Capromyidae that inhabit the Caribbean Islands. Twenty species of hutia have been identified but at least a third are extinct. Only Desmarest's hutia and the prehensile-tailed hutia remain common and widespread; all other extant species are considered threatened by the IUCN. Their larger relatives, the giant hutias of the family Heptaxodontidae, are entirely extinct.