either of two insectivores of the genus Solenodon, resembling a large shrew and having small eyes, a long and pointy snout, and a scaly tail, including the coarse-haired, reddish-brown to grayish-black S. paradoxus of Hispaniola and the finer-haired, usually darker S. cubanus of Cuba:is an endangered species; S. cubanus is rare and possibly endangered. S. paradoxus