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Wildlife of Rwanda

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African Bush Elephant

The Wildlife of Rwanda includes its flora and fauna and their natural habitats. It has 189 species of mammals and 729 species of birds.

Main article: List of mammals in Rwanda

Subclass: Theria

Infraclass: Eutheria

Order: Tubulidentata (aardvarks)

The order Tubulidentata consists of a single species, the Aardvark. Tubulidentata are characterised by their teeth which lack a pulp cavity and form thin tubes which are continuously worn down and replaced.

Order: Hyracoidea (hyraxes)

The hyraxes are any of four species of fairly small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. About the size of a domestic cat they are well-furred, with rounded bodies and a stmpy tail. They are native to Africa and the Middle East.

Order: Proboscidea (elephants)

The elephants comprise three living species and are the largest living land animals.

Order: Primates

Senegal Bushbaby
Blue Monkey
Mantled Guereza

The order Primates contains all the species commonly related to the lemurs, monkeys, and apes, with the latter category including humans. It is divided informally into three main groupings: prosimians, monkeys of the New World, and monkeys and apes of the Old World.

Order: Rodentia (rodents)

Rodents make up the largest order of mammals, with over 40 percent of mammalian species. They have two incisors in the upper and lower jaw which grow continually and must be keep short by gnawing. Most rodents are small though the capybara can weigh up to 45 kg (100 lb).

Order: Lagomorpha (lagomorphs)

The lagomorphs comprise two families, Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and Ochotonidae (pikas). Though they can resemble rodents, and were classified as a superfamily in that order until the early twentieth century, they have since been considered a separate order. They differ from rodents in a number of physical characteristics, such as having four incisors in the upper jaw rather than two.

Order: Erinaceomorpha (hedgehogs and gymnures)

The order Erinaceomorpha contains a single family, Erinaceidae, which comprise the hedgehogs and gymnures. The hedgehogs are easily recognised by their spines while gymnures look more like large rats.

Order: Soricomorpha (shrews, moles, and soledons)

The "shrew-forms" are insectivorous mmmals. The shrews and soledons closely resemble mice while the moles are stout bodied burrowers.

Order: Chiroptera (bats)

Egyptian fruit bat

The bats' most distinguishing feature is that their balls and forelimbs are developed as wings, making them the only mammals in the world naturally capable of flight. Bat species account for about 20% of all mammals.

Order: Pholidota (pangolins)

File:Pangolin ggant 28M gigantea29.jpg
Giant Pangolin

The order Philodota comprises the eight species of pangolin. Pangolins are anteaters and have the powerful claws, elongated snout and long tongue seen in the other unrelated anteater species.

Order: Carnivora (carnivores)

Wildcat
Lion
African Wild Dog

The carnivores include over 260 species, the majority of which eat meat as their primary dietary item. Carnivores have a characteristic skull shape and dentition.

Order: Perissodactyla (odd-toed ungulates)

Black Rhinoceros

The odd-toed ungulates are browsing and grazing mammals. They are usually large to very large, and have relatively simple stomachs and a large middle toe.

Order: Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates)

Hippopotamus
File:Sitatunga001.jpg
Sitatunga
Yellow-backed Duiker
Roan Antelope

The even-toed ungulates are ungulates whose weight is borne about equally by the third and fourth toes, rather than mostly or entirely by the third as in perissodactyls. There are about 220 artiodactyl species, including many that are of great economic importance to humans.

Birds

Main article: List of birds of Rwanda

Notes

References

  • "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Mammals of Rwanda". IUCN. 2001. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessdaymonth= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  • "Mammal Species of the World". Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. 2005. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessdaymonth= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  • "Animal Diversity Web". University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. 1995–2006. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessdaymonth= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: date format (link)
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