What is "solenodon"

Solenodon \So*le"no*don\, n. [Gr. ???? a channel + ????, ???, a tooth.] (Zo["o]l.) Either one of two species of singular West Indian insectivores, allied to the tenrec. One species ( Solendon paradoxus), native of St. Domingo, is called also agouta; the other ( S. Cubanus), found in Cuba, is called almique.

n. Any of the genus, ''Solenodon'', small nocturnal, burrowing, insectivorous mammals, with a long snout and venomous saliva.

Solenodons (meaning "slotted-tooth") are venomous, nocturnal, burrowing, insectivorous mammals belonging to the family Solenodontidae. Only one genus, Solenodon, is known, although a few other genera were erected at one time and are now regarded as junior synonyms. Solenodontidae is interesting to phylogenetics researchers because of its retention of primitive mammal characteristics; their species resemble very closely those that lived near the end of the age of the dinosaurs. In 2016, solenodons were confirmed by genetic analysis as predating the mass extinction of the dinosaurs. They are one of two families of Caribbean soricomorphs; it is uncertain whether the other family, Nesophontidae, which became extinct during the Holocene, was closely related to solenodons.

The two living solenodon species are the Cuban solenodon (Solenodon cubanus), and the Haitian or Hispaniolan solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus). The Hispaniolan solenodon covers a wide range of habitats on the island of Hispaniola from lowland dry forest to highland pine forest. Two other described species became extinct during the Quaternary. Oligocene North American genera, such as Apternodus, have been suggested as relatives of Solenodon, but the origins of the animal remain obscure.