Canariomys tamarani

The Gran Canaria giant rat is an extinct species of rat endemic to the island of Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain.

This rodent is known from Holocene fossil remains found at several places on the island of Gran Canaria, the youngest of which have been dated to shortly before the beginning of the Common Era. This species was previously listed on the 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as extinct, but was removed fromt he list because it is now considered to have gone extinct before 1500 AD.

The giant rat reached a body length of about 25 cm, similar to the size of the brown rat. It is believed that the arrival of humans and the introduction of feral cats led to its extinction.

Biological Classification

 * Kingdom: Animalia
 * Phylum: Chordata
 * Class: Mammalia
 * Order: Rodentia
 * Family: Muridae
 * Subfamily: Murinae
 * Genus: Canariomys
 * Species: Canariomys tamarani