Hispaniolan Solenodon

The Hispaniolan solenodon, also known as the agouta, is a small, furry, shrew-like mammal endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, found in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Like other solenodons it is venomous and insect-eating, living in burrows and active at night; it is elusive and was not described until 1833, and while its numbers are stable in protected forests it remains a focus of conservation efforts. Its smaller sister species in the same genus, Marcano's solenodon, became extinct after European colonization, and the Hispaniolan solenodon and the rat-like Hispaniolan hutia are the only surviving mammals native to the island.