Rare footage of one of the world's most strange and elusive mammals has been captured by scientists. Large, and with a long, thin snout, the Hispaniolan solenodon resembles an overgrown shrew; it can inject passing prey with a venom-loaded bite.
Little is known about the creature, which is found in the Caribbean, but it is under threat from deforestation, hunting and introduced species. Researchers say conservation efforts are now needed.The mammal was filmed in the summer of 2008 during a month-long expedition to the Dominican Republic - one of only two countries where this nocturnal, insect-eating animal (Solenodon paradoxus) can be found (the other is Haiti).
The researchers from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Ornithological Society of Hispaniola were able to take measurements and DNA from the creature before it was released.
Dr Richard Young, from Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, said: "My colleagues were excited and thrilled when they found it in the trap.
"But despite a month's worth of trapping effort, they only ever caught a single individual."
Specialised teeth
The Hispaniolan solenodon is one of the creatures highlighted by the Zoological Society of London's (ZSL) Edge of Existence programme, which focuses its efforts on conservation plans for animals that are both endangered and evolutionarily distinctive.
Dr Sam Turvey, a ZSL researcher involved with the programme, told BBC News: "It is an amazing creature - it is one of the most evolutionary distinct mammals in the world.
"Along with the other species of solenodon, which is found in Cuba ( Solenodon cubanus ), it is the only living mammal that can actually inject venom into their prey through specialised teeth.
"The fossil record shows that some other now-extinct mammal groups also had so-called dental venom delivery systems. So this might have been a more general ancient mammalian characteristic that has been lost in most modern mammals, and is only retained in a couple of very ancient lineages."
Dr Turvey and other scientists working for the Edge programme recently discovered a population of solenodons living in a remote corner of Haiti.
The researcher said that the team was surprised to find them; previously it had been feared that the creatures had become extinct in this country because of extensive deforestation, recently introduced mongoose and dogs, and hunting by humans for food.
He said: "They are still incredibly vulnerable and fragile. So it is really important to get back out there to work how how these animals are surviving."
Conservation efforts are now needed in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the teams believe, but the first step would be to find out more about the animal.
Dr Young said: "We know little about its ecology, its behaviour, its population status, its genetics - and without that knowledge base it is really difficult to design effective conservation."
The research will be undertaken by ZSL's Edge programme, Durrell, the Ornithological Society of Hispaniola, the Audubon Society of Haiti, and the Dominican Republic's National Zoological Park and Agency for Protected Areas and Biodiversity.
See BBC website for videoclip.
Rare venomous 'giant shrew' caught on camera for first time
The Telegraph 9 Jan 09;
One of the world's rarest mammals, that looks like a giant shrew and has a venomous bite - the Hispaniolan solenodon - has been filmed for the first time in the Dominican Republic.
Like an enormous rat, with a long thin snout, the Hispaniolan solenodon is the last of an ancient lineage of species stretching back to the age of dinosaurs. It is one of the few mammals that have survived in the Caribbean islands since the arrival of humans and is now under threat from deforestation, introduced species like dogs, climate change and development.
In an effort to find out more about the solenodon, scientists from the Gerald Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust tracked mammals on the Dominican Republic for four weeks last summer.
However despite a huge effort, only one specimen was trapped. The animal was filmed being handled by a member of the expedition wearing gloves. DNA samples were taken and important information on behaviour noted before it was released back into the wild.
The mammal has a number of distinctive characteristics because of its unique evolutionary process. For example it has specialised teeth capable of delivering venom that is found in only a few other very ancient species. It is not yet known whether the "dental venom delivery systems" are for self defence or to immobilise prey.
Professor John Fa, director of conservation science at the Durrell Trust, said the study of the animal is extremely important because of their long unique evolutionary history. Also because they are among a handful of survivors of over 100 mammal species that have gone extinct in the West Indies since the arrival of humans.
The nocturnal insect-eating mammal is only found today in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
He said: "There is currently very little information known about this endangered animal, so we are trying to build up a picture of how the solenodon lives, breeds and the threats it faces, in order to support the local NGOs and Government. We can then complete a plan for this species' conservation in Haiti and the Dominican Republic."