The prehensile-tailed hutia (Mysateles prehensilis) is a species of hutia in the subfamily Capromyinae endemic to Cuba. It is the only member of the genus Mysateles. It is an arboreal foliovore, found in both primary and secondary forest.[1]
The genus name Mysateles derives from the two ancient greek words μῦς (mûs), meaning "mouse, rat", and ἀτέλεια (atéleia), meaning "incomplete, imperfect".
Within Capromyidae, the closest relative of Mysateles is the genus Mesocapromys. Both genera are the sister group to Capromys, and then Geocapromys is a more distant genus. In turn, these four genera belong to the tribe Capromyini, and are the sister group to Plagiodontia.
Several other hutia species such as Garrido's hutia (Capromys garridoi) and the black-tailed hutia (Mesocapromys melanurus) were formerly classified in Mysateles, but phylogenetic evidence found them to belong in different genera, leaving only M. prehensilis in Mysateles.[8]
A subspecies, Mysateles prehensilis gundlachi (also known as Chapman's prehensile-tailed hutia or Gundlach's hutia) was previously considered a separate species (Mysateles gundlachi).[9] The Isla De La Juventud tree hutia (M. p. meridionalis) was also previously considered a separate species, but was found to be a subspecies by phylogenetic studies.[8][10]
The species is listed as near threatened on the IUCN Red List. Although locally common in some areas, it is in decline and is threatened by deforestation and habitat fragmentation.[1]