This genus represents a radiation of 'spiny rats' (family: Echimyidae) into the northern Greater Antilles. These animals have not been formally reviewed, but we follow Hall (1981) in recognizing only a single genus that incorporates Homopsomys of Puerto Rico, Brotomys of Hispaniola and  Boromys of Cuba. Hall proposed 2 species on each island but a more conservative view would be to recognize one per island. Various authors have proposed survival of the genus into the 19th or even 20th century, but without direct radiometric evidence.