noun
also ju·tia (h)üˈtēə
( -s )
Etymology: Spanish hutía & American Spanish jutía, from Taino hutía
: any of several large edible hystricomorph rodents that constitute two West Indian genera ( Capromys and Geocapromys ) and a related So. American genus ( Procapromys ), are closely related to the coypus, and are now extinct over much of their range