Eared hutia
Mesocapromys auritus (Varona, 1970)
The eared hutia (Mesocapromys auritus) is a species in the family Echimyidae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh about 585.5 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.
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Quick facts about the eared hutia
- Weight
- 585.5 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Scansorialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the eared hutia live?
Not recorded
What is the eared hutia?
The eared hutia or large-eared hutia (Mesocapromys auritus) is a small, endangered, rat-like mammal found only on the Caribbean island of Cayo Fragoso, off the north coast of Cuba. It lives in coastal mangrove forests and swamps and is threatened by habitat loss. It is a member of the hutia subfamily (Capromyinae), a group of rodents native to the Caribbean that are mostly endangered or extinct.
From the Wikipedia article “Eared hutia” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eared_hutia&oldid=1375125728), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the eared hutia endangered?
The eared hutia is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species. What the categories mean.
How is the eared hutia classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyEchimyidae
- genusMesocapromys
- SpeciesMesocapromys auritus (Varona, 1970)
Synonyms Capromys auritus
Other names and names in other languages (10)
- Large-eared hutiaEnglish
- Large-eared hutiaEnglish
- hutia ušatáCzech
- Jutía rataSpanish
- Jutía OrejonaSpanish
- fragosonhutiaFinnish
- オオミミフチアJapanese
- GrootoorhutiaDutch
- skrytohutia wielkouchaPolish
- Hutia-orelhudaPortuguese
Relatives of the eared hutia
Other species in the same genus Mesocapromys.
Cabrera's hutia
Mesocapromys angelcabrerai
Dwarf hutia
Mesocapromys nanus
San Felipe hutia
Mesocapromys sanfelipensis
Black-tailed hutia
Mesocapromys melanurus
CompareEared hutia vs Cabrera's hutiaEared hutia vs Dwarf hutiaEared hutia vs San Felipe hutiaEared hutia vs Black-tailed hutia
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the eared hutia?
An adult eared hutia weighs 585.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the eared hutia endangered?
The eared hutia is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
What kind of animal is the eared hutia?
The eared hutia (Mesocapromys auritus) belongs to the family Echimyidae in the order Rodentia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Eared hutia (Mesocapromys auritus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/eared-hutia
“Eared hutia (Mesocapromys auritus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/eared-hutia.
@misc{eared_hutia_2026,
title = {Eared hutia (Mesocapromys auritus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/eared-hutia},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}