Canary Islands Giant Rat
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Extinct (fossil)
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| Canariomys tamarani Lopez-Martinez & Lopez-Jurado, 1987 |
The Canary Islands Giant Rat (Canariomys tamarani) was endemic to the island of Gran Canaria, part of the Canary Islands, Spain.
This rodent is only known from fossil remains. At different places on the centre of the island fossil remains were found, of which the youngest were dated back from shortly before Christ. This species was previous listed on the 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as extinct, but was removed from the list because it is considered this species to have become extinct before 1500 AD.
The Giant Rat reached a body length of about 25 cm, that is resembling the size of the Brown Rat. It is supposed that the appearance of humans and the introducing of feral cats had led to the extinction of the Giant Rat.
Another Giant Rat of the Canary Islands was the Tenerife Giant Rat, Canariomys bravoi.
