A rare and venomous shrew-like creature has been caught on camera for the
first time by scientists in the Caribbean.
The solenodon (pron: sol-een-oh-don) goes back to the time of dinosaurs and
is called a "living fossil" by researchers.

MENCIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (FILE - JUNE 23, 2008) DURRELL WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST -
It is about the size of a large shrew, has a very long pointy snout,
a tail like a rat and venomous teeth --- and it is extremely rare.
Solenodons (pronounced: sol-een-oh-dons) have survived since the time
of dinosaurs and have long been on the verge of extinction and now scientists
have for the first time caught the creature they call a "living
fossil" on camera.

An expedition of researchers from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation
Trust spent many weeks trying to find a solenodon in the remote parts of
Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic).

Amid fears they were already extinct the researchers were delighted to
capture just one of the creatures in their numerous traps.

The animal was rushed to a research centre in Mencia, Dominican
Republic where it was observed, measured, had its DNA taken and videoed before
being released back into the wild that night.

"Solendons have historically always been known to be very rare.
Over 100 years ago zoologists went to Hispaniola looking for them and
colleagues told them 'you'd have more luck looking for ghosts than solenodons'
so they've always been thought of as being if not extinct then on the very
verge of extinction," said Sam Turvey, research fellow at Zoological
Society London's Edge of Extinction programme, who is now helping to find ways
to protect the solenodon.

It is impossible to know how many solenodons exist in the West Indies.
There are only two species living in their indigenous Hispaniola and Cuba.
Scientists say they are extremely rare and in danger of being wiped out due to
deforestation and hunting by non-indigenous animals such as dogs and
mongooses.
Turvey says the video of the one solenodon they managed to capture will
be crucial in the quest to learn more about the animal.

"The situation has meant really that we know next to nothing about
them in their natural environment. We know a little bit about their anatomy
and morthology but we don't really know much about the habitats that they need
to survive, what they eat, what they do, exactly what the threats are as
well," he said.

Hispaniola used to have around 120 indigenous land mammals, like
monkeys and sloths. Around 100 of those have now been wiped out - but the
solenodon has managed to survive.

"It's one of the most evolutionarily extinct mammals in the world.
It really has no close relatives, it's distantly related to shrews and
hedgehogs. The solenodon line actually diverged from all other mammals about
76 million years ago around the time of the dinosaurs, so they are very much
this living fossil group that today only survives in the Caribbean and only
just there," said Turvey.

The name solenodon means grooved teeth, so named because of the venom
the animal injects into prey from its lower incisors. It is the only mammal
left with the ability to kill prey in such a way.
The solenodon was filmed in June last year, but scientists have only
just released the footage now.