Abs ac
The Cana eos A chipelago (Cuba) is he geog aphic egion in he Wes Indies wi h g ea -
es di e si y o cap omyid oden s, wi h se en axa. Cu en s a us o conse a ion, dis-
ibu ion, and sys ema ic o he ca abali hu ia (Mysa eles me idionalis) o he S o Isla de
la Ju en ud we e analyzed and discussed. All he ac o s ha a ec his species o hu ia
a e poin ed ou . Conse a ion ca ego y as IUCN c i e ion is ecommended.
Key wo ds: Cap omyid oden , conse a ion, Cuba, Isla de la Ju en ud, Mysa eles me i-
dionalis.
Resumen. Es ado ac ual de la ju ía ca abalí del su de la Isla de la Ju en ud, Mysa eles
me idionalis.
El A chipiélago de los Cana eos (Cuba) es la egión geog á ica de las An illas con ma-
yo di e sidad de oedo es cap ómidos, con un o al de sie e axones. En el p esen e es-
udio se discu e el es ado ac ual de conse ación, pe u baciones del hábi a , dis ibución
y sis emá ica de la ju ía ca abalí (Mysa eles me idionalis), de la Isla de la Ju en ud. Se
elacionan odos los ac o es que a ec an a dicha especie. Se ecomienda una ecali ica-
ción de la ca ego ía de conse ación según los c i e ios de la IUCN.
Palab as cla es: conse ación, Roden a, Cap omyidae, Cuba, Isla de la Ju en ud,
Mysa eles me idionalis.
In oduc ion
The Isla de la Ju en ud ( o me ly known as Isle o Pines) wi h 2,199 km2 is he
mos impo an island o he Cana eos A chipelago. I is loca ed sou h o he wes -
e n egion o Cuba. The swamp o Lanie di ides he Isla de la Ju en ud in o wo
po ions, sou h and no h; which di e om geomo phological, geological and
lo a poin s o iew, among o he s. The Cana eos is conside ed a Special
Region o Sus ained Flo al De elopmen o Na ional Signi icance and has he
O sis 18, 2003 7-11
Cu en s a us o he ca abali hu ia om Sou h o
Isla de la Ju en ud, Mysa eles me idionalis
Ra ael Bo o o Páez
Ignacio Ramos Ga cía
Ins i u o de Ecología y Sis emá ica, CITMA
Ca e e a de Va ona Km 3.5. A.P. 8029
10800 Ciudad de La Habana. Cuba
Manusc ip ecei ed in Decembe 2002
ca ego y o Mul iple Use P o ec ed A ea (Ca ego y V o IUCN). Thi een local-
i ies in The Cana eos ha e di e en s a us o P o ec ed A eas (Cen o Nacional
de A eas P o egidas, 1998).
The Cap omyidae amily is endemic o he Wes Indies and includes he o-
den s commonly named hu ias. Cuba houses he g ea es numbe o species (10)
ha a e ali e o ha e su i ed un il ecen imes assuming ha o some species
he e is no enough in o ma ion o know he cu en s a us o hei popula ions.
O he h ee species o he genus Geocap omys and Plagiodon ia ha e su i ed
in he Wes Indies. I hese 10 species s ill exis in Cuba, hey would ep esen
77% o he cu en di e si y o he amily.
In Cuba, he geog aphical zone o g ea es impo ance o he Cap omyidae
is he Cana eos A chipelago, since in his zone h ee genus and six cap omyids
axa inhabi . In he Isla de la Ju en ud, ou axa can be ound: Cap omys pilo ides
elic us Allen, 1911 and Mysa eles p ehensilis gundlachi Chapman, 1901 ( e u n
o he o me combina ion a e Bo o o, 2002), bo h om he no h o he Isla
de la Ju en ud; Cap omys pilo ides cip ianoi Bo o o e al., 1992 and Mysa eles
me idionalis (Va ona, 1986), bo h om he sou h o ha Island. The sys ema ic
o he amily has been analyzed ecen ly in Woods e al. (2001) and Bo o o (2002).
Ou o he cu en Cuban species, only wo could be conside ed ou o dan-
ge , conside ing he densi y o hei popula ions and hei ex ensi e dis ibu ion.
They a e: he conga hu ia (Cap omys pilo ides) wi h i e known subspecies and
he ca abalí hu ia (Mysa eles p ehensilis). The es o he species a e in di e en
deg ees o de e io a ion o hei popula ions, which leads us o hink ha in some
o hem he damage is i e e sible o will be so i immedia e measu es a e no
aken. The s a us o all axa o he Cana eos A chipelago has been ecen ly
analyzed by Bo o o and Ramos (in p ess).
The in o ma ion he e p esen ed is he esul o ou expedi ions ca ied ou
mainly o he S o he Isla de la Ju en ud be ween he yea s 1987 and 1993 wi h
he objec i e o s udying he sys ema ic and he na u al his o y o he cap omyid
oden s and especially he axa o he island. Ano he sou ce o in o ma ion was
he su eys ca ied ou du ing hese yea s and mo e ecen ly by esea che s, who
equen ly isi he a ea, and mainly by peasan s, o es ange s, and s eal hy hun e s
o he mos impo an loca ions. In o de o indica e he deg ee o h ea we ol-
lowed he ca ego ies es ablished by he In e na ional Union o he Conse a ion
o he Na u e (UICN, 1994), and we o e he c i e ion es ablished by he IUCN
in di e en pe iods (IUCN, 1990; G oomb idge, 1993).
Species Accoun :
Mysa eles me idionalis (Common name: ca abalí hu ia o he sou h o he Isla
de la Ju en ud, sa a hu ia, ee hu ia, p ehensile- ailed hu ia).
Va ona (1986) desc ibed his species om i e animals collec ed almos 10
yea s be o e, mainly based on he smalle size o he ail, which in ela ion o he
body is o 62% and has 23 caudal e eb al. This ea u e is conside ed signi i-
8O sis 18, 2003 R. Bo o o; I. Ramos
can aking in o conside a ion ha in genus Mysa eles he numbe o caudal e -
eb as has always been 28. O he cha ac e s, such as he leng h o he nasals, ha
subsequen ly exceed he maxila p ocesses, a e a iable among di e en popu-
la ions o hu ias.
The ype locali y was e e ed o as he o es s no h o Cale a Cocod ilo (Jack-
son ille), owa ds he wes e n-sou he n a ea o he Isla de la Ju en ud, ega d-
ing he zone nea Ha o, 2 km away om Milián as ano he zone o dis ibu ion.
We unde s and ha wha is known as Ha o de Milián and i s su oundings a e
hei only and na ow a ea o dis ibu ion.
Wi hou doub s, he dis ibu ion o M. me idionalis mus ha e been much wide
in he pas . The main cause o hei educed cu en dis ibu ion may ha e been
a o es blaze ha o se e al mon hs de as a ed almos all he sou h o Isla de
la Ju en ud (excep o he Ha o de Milian a ea), ea ly in he pas cen u y.
The only known specimens a e he i e e e ed o by Va ona in his hypodigm,
cap u ed in 1977 and 1978, s o ed in he collec ion o he IES ( wo) and in he
Va ona collec ion ( h ee specimens including he holo ype). In ou i s expedi-
ion in 1987, local peasan s commen ed ha hey had seen ca abalí hu ias wo o
h ee yea s be o e “nea Ismael’s house”, in Ha o de Milián. In ou successi e
isi s un il 1993, we hea d his same e e ence on se e al occasions, ma king he
same place and he peasan s con inued saying ha i had happened wo o h ee
yea s be o e.
Du ing ou ou expedi ions o he su oundings o Ha o de Milián, we ne e
obse ed e idence o he exis ence o Mysa eles me idionalis. We we e always
guided by peasan s and o es ange s who knew he zone e y well. Bu ou main
di icul y was ha he dogs we we e able o ge we e ained o ma k he p es-
ence o conga hu ias (Cap omys pilo ides), o e es ial habi s and e y abun-
dan in he zone, and no ca abalí hu ia, a species o a bo eal habi s. In he u u e
we will enla ge he explo a ion a ea, esea ching in he na ow s ip o mang o e
loca ed no h o Ha o de Milián.
Ne e heless, we could obse e he cha ac e is ics o he a ea and some ac-
o s ha could ha e in luenced he decline o his species in spi e o he ac ha
he o es seems o be well p ese ed. In ou opinion, an impo an ac was o
obse e li le climbing plan s o ines be ween he ees, some e en emained en-
angled bu o ally d y. We ha e e i ied he close ela ionship be ween ca abalí
hu ia and ines in o he species o Mysa eles. These plan s occasionally o m a
complex and hick wining plan a ound he unks, b anches and oliage o he
ees ha c ea es a a o able s uc u al niche o he Mysa eles. These ines a e
used by he ca abalí hu ias as shel e , nes s, subs a um o many i al ac i i ies
and allows hem o mo e sa ely om ee o ee.
The p esence o e al dogs and ca s was e i ied, al hough only he ca s seem
o a ec M. me idionalis di ec ly due o hei climbing abili y. On one occasion,
a ca was spo ed and sho . I was hiding among he ines, which seemed o be
an abandoned hu ia nes . The o es wo ke s old us ha he e al ca s a e e-
quen in ha zone. Ra nes s (Ra us a us) we e also obse ed among he dead
ines, and hese escaped quickly when he b anches we e mo ed iolen ly.
Conse a ion o Mysa eles me idionalis O sis 18, 2003 9
Ano he aspec o keep in mind is he high popula ion densi y eached by he
conga hu ia o he sou h (Cap omys pilo ides cip ianoi) in his locali y. Al hough
bo h species do no o e lap in hei ecological niches comple ely, ex eme den-
si ies o he conga hu ia could diminish he space possibili ies o M. me idion-
alis o hei i al ac i i ies. A he same ime, his si ua ion makes he conga hu ia
a be e hun ing a ge due o i s abundance, la ge size, and weigh . The e o e,
his is no conside ed in luen ial o he M. me idionalis.
In Augus o 1999, Celino Ri es, a specialis om Na u al Pa k “Pun a
F ancés” communica ed o us ha hu ias like “ca abali” had been seen in he man-
g o e zone. Na ional Pa k Pun a F ancés is he wes e nmos a ea o sou he n Isla
de la Ju en ud, and i s a ea is 6,083 ha. Bu i is no conside ed a ype locali y o
M. me idionalis. The Pa k is ou km away om Ha o de Milían. M . Ri es’ s a e-
men needs o be e i ied and, he e o e, we a e p epa ing an expedi ion o he
Pa k. A e his news, M. me idionalis has wo possible dis ibu ion locali ies:
Ha o de Milían and Pun a F ancés (Fig. 1).
10 O sis 18, 2003 R. Bo o o; I. Ramos
Figu e 1. Dis ibu ion locali ies o Mysa eles me idionalis: Ha o de Milían and
Na ional Pa k Pun a F ancés.
The IUCN in 1990 and 1994 classi ied Mysa eles me idionalis as unde e mined
due o he lack o in o ma ion (IUCN, 1990; G oomb idge, 1993). In 1996 he
IUCN classi ied he species as Lowe Risk: nea h ea ened. A epo o conse -
a ion assessmen was planned ecen ly (Bo o o & Ramos, 1999). We unde s and
ha since he e has been no clea e idence o M. me idionalis o many yea s,
and as a esul o hei ex emely educed dis ibu ion, hei popula ion s a us should
be e y nea ex inc ion. Thus, we ecommend e e ing o hem as c i ically en-
dange ed (CR). Hoping o be on ime o p o ec ing he las indi iduals o his
species, we sugges ha immedia e in es iga ions be ca ied ou in o de o know
he eal conse a ion s a us o hei popula ion.
Re e ences
Bo o o, R. 2002. Sis emá ica de las ju ías i ien es de las An illas (Roden ia: Cap omyi-
dae). Tesis en opción al G ado Cien í ico de Doc o en Ciencias Biológicas. Ins i u o
de Ecología y Sis emá ica, CITMA. C. Habana.
Bo o o, R.; I. Ramos. 1999. Taxon da a shee : Mysa eles me idionalis. Sec ion VII. 1-4.
In: Repo o Conse a ion Assessmen and Managemen Plan Wo kshop o Selec ed
Cuban Species IV. CBSG, Apple Valley, Minneso a.
Bo o o, R.; I. Ramos (in p ess). Cu en s a us o he hu ias (Roden ia: Cap omyidae) in
he A chipelago Los Cana eos. In: Mammals o he Wes Indies.
Cen o Nacional de A eas P o egidas. 1998. In o me Final: III Talle Nacional de Á eas
p o egidas. Ene o 1998. Agencia de Medio Ambien e. CITMA.
G oomb idge, B. (ed.). 1993. IUCN Red Lis o Th ea ened Animal. IUCN Gland, Swi ze -
land and Camb idge.
In e na ional Union o he Conse a ion o Na u e and Na u al Resou ces. 1990. IUCN
ed lis o h ea ened animal. IUCN, Gland, Swi zeland.
In e na ional Union o he Conse a ion o Na u e and Na u al Resou ces. 1996. IUCN
ed lis o h ea ened animal. IUCN, Gland, Swi zeland.
UICN. 1994. Ca ego ías de las lis as ojas de la UICN. P epa adas po la Comisión de
Supe i encia de las Especies de la UICN. Gland, Suiza.
Va ona, L.S. 1986. Táxones del subgéne o Mysa eles en la Isla de la Ju en ud. Desc ip-
ción de una nue a especie (Roden ia; Cap omyidae; Cap omys). Poeyana 315: 1-12.
Woods, C.A.; Bo o o, R.; Kilpa ick, C.W. 2001. Insula pa e ns and adia ions o Wes
Indian oden s. 335-353 In: Woods C.A. (Ed). Biogeog aphy o he Wes Indies. Ed.
2, CRC P ess, Boca de Ra on.
Conse a ion o Mysa eles me idionalis O sis 18, 2003 11
