However, insects aren’t the only things they eat. Solenodon diet and reproduction. FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET. S. paradoxus is 1 of 2 extant species in the genus Solenodon, and 2 subspecies are recognized. It is unusual among mammals in that its saliva is venomous. It … Diet: The Hispaniolan solenodon's diet includes insects and other invertebrates, small reptiles, some fruit and vegetables, and possibly an occasional young chicken. Solenodons are some of the last few surviving Caribbean land mammals and are threatened today by habitat loss and predation from introduced dogs and cats. The Hispaniolan Solenodon; This cute little guy is a venomous, nocturnal, burrowing mammal that looks a bit like a shrew. https://www.small-mammals.org/species/hispaniolan-solenodon Jaw morphology is closely linked to both diet and biomechanical performance, and jaws are one of the most common Mesozoic mammal fossil elements. The solenodon is particularly fascinating because it delivers its poison just as a snake does—using its teeth as a syringe to inject venom into its target. Herein we characterized venom from the endangered Hispaniolan solenodon ( Solenodon paradoxus ) and find that it consists of hypotensive proteins likely used to facilitate vertebrate prey … The Hispaniolan solenodon is a wondrously strange creature. First recorded in 1833, the Hispaniolan Solenodon lives in undisturbed forests in southern Haiti. The Cuban solenodon is an insectivore native to Cuba. Hispaniolan solenodons are omnivorous, generalist feeders with some emphasis on bugs and spiders, whereas various their fare with worms, snails, small reptiles, roots, fruits, and leaves. The solenodon is an insectivorous animal, meaning that it feeds mainly on insects. These animals are only found on the islands of Hispaniola and Cuba. With small eyes and dark brown to black hair, the Cuban solenodon is sometimes compared to a shrew, although it most closely resembles members of the tenrec family, of Madagascar. Solenodons forage by sniffing out prey with their long snout. Multiple representatives of eulipotyphlan mammals (shrews, hedgehogs, moles, and solenodons) are venomous, but little is known about the evolutionary history and composition of their oral venom systems. About the size of a guinea pig, it has a long, hairless snout, sharp little teeth and, to top it all off, venom-laced saliva. The species is one of few venomous mammals with venom delivery through a channel in a modified lower incisor. They sometimes complement their diet with small reptiles, worms, crabs, frogs and even fruit. The Hispaniolan solenodon is only found on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (made up of the Dominican Republic and Haiti), and is considered one of … Some of these teeth can inject venomous saliva when the animal bites its victims. The Hispaniolan solenodon has 40 teeth for cutting up insect prey. Solenodon paradoxus Brandt, 1833, is a large lipotyphlan insectivore commonly called the Hispaniolan solenodon.