Nesophontes fossil map
Where fossils of Nesophontes have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 0 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 2.58 million years ago to the present (Gelasian to Holocene) |
| Periods | Quaternary |
| Family | Nesophontidae |
| Named by | Anthony 1916 |
| Fossil records | 48 occurrences at 17 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba |
| Rock formations | txn:67213 |
About Nesophontes
Nesophontes, sometimes called West Indies shrews, is the sole genus of the extinct, monotypic mammal family Nesophontidae in the order Eulipotyphla. These animals were small insectivores, about 5 to 15 cm long, with a long, slender snout, head and long tail. They were endemic to the Greater Antilles (except Jamaica), Cuba, Hispaniola (now the Dominican Republic and Haiti), Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Nesophontes (revision 1302949346), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q941502.
