1 The Last Survivors: current status and conservation of the non-volant land 2 mammals of the insular Caribbean 3 4 SAMUEL T. TURVEY,* ROSALIND J. KENNERLEY, JOSE M. NUÑEZ-MIÑO, AND RICHARD P. 5 YOUNG 6 7 Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4RY (STT) 8 Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Les Augrès Manor, Trinity, Jersey JE3 5BP, Channel 9 Islands (RJK, JNM, RPY) 10 11 *Correspondent:
[email protected] 12 13 Running header: Status of Caribbean land mammals 14 1 15 The insular Caribbean is among the few oceanic-type island systems colonized by non-volant 16 land mammals. This region also has experienced the world’s highest levels of historical 17 mammal extinctions, with at least 29 species lost since AD 1500. Representatives of only 2 18 land-mammal families (Capromyidae and Solenodontidae) now survive, in Cuba, Hispaniola, 19 Jamaica, and the Bahama Archipelago. The conservation status of Caribbean land mammals 20 is surprisingly poorly understood. The most recent IUCN Red List assessment, from 2008, 21 recognized 15 endemic species, of which 13 were assessed as threatened. We reassessed all 22 available baseline data on the current status of the Caribbean land-mammal fauna within the 23 framework of the IUCN Red List, to determine specific conservation requirements for 24 Caribbean land-mammal species using an evidence-based approach. We recognize only 13 25 surviving species, 1 of which is not formally described and cannot be assessed using IUCN 26 criteria; 3 further species previously considered valid are interpreted as junior synonyms or 27 subspecies.