As recently as 600 years BP, a swathe of Lesser Antilean islands were home to a suite of at least three species of 'giant Antillean rice rats' of the genus Megalomys. None of these animals are currently believed to survive; M. luciae apparently disappeared from St. Lucia in the 1880's and M. desmarestii was lost from Martinique in 1902 or shortly thereafter. M. audreyae is not known to have survived on Antigua and Barbuda beyond 600 years BP.

        Subfossil remains of an as-yet unidentified rice rat occur in archaeological deposits on the island of Nevis, and traditional folklore includes accounts of the hunting of 'Mountain Rats'. Recently, several sitings of an unidentified rodent have been reported from the island. Supported by the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society, fieldwork in May 1999 will focus on an intensive trapping effort, particularly at the highest elevations of Nevis Peak. We hope to resolve the enigma of a surviving 'rice rat' against a background of 100% extinction of the remaining Lesser Antillean terrestrial mammal fauna. The project is funded through a Parsons Foundation grant to Scripps College.