List of mammals of Alabama
The U.S. state of Alabama is home to these known indigenous mammal species.[1] Historically, the state's indigenous species included one armadillo species, sixteen bat species, thirteen carnivore species, six insectivore species, one opossum species, four rabbit species, twenty-two rodent species, and three ungulate species.[2][3][4][5][6][7] Four of these native species have become extirpated within the state, including the American bison, cougar, elk, and the red wolf.[1][8]
There are six known introduced mammal species in the state. These include the black rat, brown rat, fallow deer, feral swine, house mouse, and nutria.[8] Several other mammal species have had verifiable sightings within the state, but are believed by biologists to be without established breeding populations. These include the California sea lion (in Mobile Bay), ring-tailed cat, and jaguarundi.[4]
Human predation and habitat destruction has placed several mammal species at risk of extirpation or extinction. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources lists the conservation status of each species within the state with a rank of lowest, low, moderate, high, and highest concern.[3][5][6][7][8]
Armadillo
Image | Scientific name | Common name | Family | Conservation concern |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dasypus novemcinctus mexicanus | nine-banded armadillo common long-nosed armadillo |
Dasypodidae | Low |
Bats
Carnivores
Image | Scientific name | Common name | Family | Conservation concern |
---|---|---|---|---|
Canis latrans | coyote | Canidae | Lowest | |
Canis lupus | gray wolf | Canidae | Extirpated/ | |
Canis rufus | red wolf | Canidae | Extirpated/ U.S. Fish and Wildlife lists as endangered | |
Vulpes vulpes fulvus | red fox | Canidae | Lowest | |
Urocyon cinereoargenteus | gray fox | Canidae | Lowest | |
Ursus americanus | American black bear | Ursidae | Highest/ Range limited to Mobile-Tensaw River Delta and surrounding area. Designated as state land mammal. | |
Procyon lotor | raccoon | Procyonidae | Lowest | |
Mustela frenata | long-tailed weasel | Mustelidae | High | |
Neovison vison | American mink | Mustelidae | Low | |
Lontra canadensis | North American river otter northern river otter |
Mustelidae | Low | |
Mephitis mephitis | striped skunk polecat |
Mephitidae | Low | |
Spilogale putorius | eastern spotted skunk polecat |
Mephitidae | High | |
Puma concolor | cougar mountain lion panther puma |
Felidae | Extirpated | |
Lynx rufus | bobcat | Felidae | Lowest |
Insectivores
Image | Scientific name | Common name | Family | Conservation concern |
---|---|---|---|---|
Blarina brevicauda | northern short-tailed shrew | Soricidae | Moderate | |
Blarina carolinensis | southern short-tailed shrew | Soricidae | Moderate | |
Cryptotis parva | North American least shrew | Soricidae | Moderate | |
Sorex hoyi | American pygmy shrew | Soricidae | High | |
Sorex longirostris | southeastern shrew | Soricidae | Moderate | |
Scalopus aquaticus | eastern mole | Talpidae | Low |
Opossum
Image | Scientific name | Common name | Family | Conservation concern |
---|---|---|---|---|
Didelphis virginiana | Virginia opossum North American opossum |
Didelphidae | Low |
Rabbits
Image | Scientific name | Common name | Family | Conservation concern |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sylvilagus aquaticus | swamp rabbit | Leporidae | Low | |
Sylvilagus floridanus | eastern cottontail | Leporidae | Lowest | |
Sylvilagus obscurus | Appalachian cottontail | Leporidae | High | |
Sylvilagus palustris | marsh rabbit | Leporidae | High |
Rodents
Image | Scientific name | Common name | Family | Conservation concern |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tamias striatus | eastern chipmunk | Sciuridae | Lowest | |
Marmota monax | woodchuck groundhog |
Sciuridae | Lowest | |
Sciurus carolinensis | eastern gray squirrel | Sciuridae | Lowest | |
Sciurus niger | fox squirrel eastern fox squirrel Bryant's fox squirrel |
Sciuridae | Low Note: Alabama examples often have a black facial mask with white nose and ears. | |
Glaucomys volans | southern flying squirrel | Sciuridae | Lowest | |
Geomys pinetis | southeastern pocket gopher | Geomyidae | High Note: Geomys bursarius is pictured, however Geomys pinetis is nearly identical in appearance. | |
Castor canadensis | North American beaver | Castoridae | Lowest | |
Oryzomys palustris | marsh rice rat | Cricetidae | Lowest | |
Reithrodontomys humulis | eastern harvest mouse | Cricetidae | Moderate | |
Peromyscus polionotus | oldfield mouse beach mouse |
Cricetidae | Moderate | |
Peromyscus polionotus ammobates | Alabama beach mouse | Cricetidae | Highest/ U.S. Fish and Wildlife lists as endangered. Range limited to Fort Morgan Peninsula and Ono Island in Baldwin County. | |
Peromyscus polionotus trissyllepsis | Perdido Key beach mouse | Cricetidae | Highest/ U.S. Fish and Wildlife lists as endangered. Range limited to the barrier island of Perdido Key in Baldwin County, Alabama and Escambia County, Florida. | |
Peromyscus gossypinus | cotton mouse | Cricetidae | Lowest | |
Peromyscus leucopus | white-footed mouse | Cricetidae | Lowest | |
Ochrotomys nuttalli | golden mouse | Cricetidae | Lowest | |
Sigmodon hispidus | hispid cotton rat | Cricetidae | Lowest | |
Neotoma cinerea | eastern woodrat Florida woodrat |
Cricetidae | Moderate | |
Neotoma magister | Allegheny woodrat | Cricetidae | High | |
Microtus ochrogaster | prairie vole | Cricetidae | Moderate | |
Microtus pinetorum | pine vole woodland vole |
Cricetidae | Low | |
Ondatra zibethicus | muskrat | Cricetidae | Lowest | |
Rattus rattus | black rat | Muridae | Exotic/ Considered a pest species | |
Rattus norvegicus | Norway rat brown rat |
Muridae | Exotic/ Considered a pest species | |
Mus musculus | house mouse | Muridae | Exotic/ Considered a pest species | |
Zapus hudsonius | meadow jumping mouse | Dipodidae | High | |
Myocaster coypus | nutria coypu river rat |
Myocastoridae | Exotic/ Considered a pest species |
Cetaceans
Image | Scientific name | Common name | Family | Conservation concern |
---|---|---|---|---|
Eubalaena glacialis | North Atlantic right whale | Balaenidae | Endangered | |
Balaenoptera musculus | blue whale | Balaenopteridae | Endangered | |
Balaenoptera physalus | fin whale | Balaenopteridae | Endangered | |
Balaenoptera borealis | sei whale | Balaenopteridae | Endangered | |
Balaenoptera brydei | Bryde's whale | Balaenopteridae | Data Deficient | |
Balaenoptera brydei | common minke whale | Balaenopteridae | Least concern | |
Megaptera novaeangliae | humpback whale | Balaenopteridae | Least concern | |
Physeter macrocephalus | sperm whale | Physeteridae | Vulnerable | |
Kogia breviceps | pygmy sperm whale | Kogiidae | Data Deficient | |
Kogia sima | dwarf sperm whale | Kogiidae | Data Deficient | |
Ziphius cavirostris | Cuvier's beaked whale | Ziphiidae | Least concern | |
Mesoplodon densirostris | Blainville's beaked whale | Ziphiidae | Data Deficient | |
Mesoplodon bidens | Sowerby's beaked whale | Ziphiidae | Data Deficient | |
Mesoplodon europaeus | Gervais' beaked whale | Ziphiidae | Data Deficient | |
Peponocephala electra | melon-headed whale | Ziphiidae | Data Deficient | |
Feresa attenuata | pygmy killer Whale | Delphinidae | Data Deficient | |
Pseudorca crassidens | false killer Whale | Delphinidae | Data Deficient | |
Orcinus orca | killer whale | Delphinidae | Data Deficient | |
Globicephala macrorhynchus | short-finned pilot whale | Delphinidae | Data Deficient | |
Steno bredanensis | rough-toothed dolphin | Delphinidae | Least concern | |
Lagenodelphis hosei | Fraser's dolphin | Delphinidae | Least concern | |
Tursiops truncatus | common bottlenose dolphin | Delphinidae | Least Concern | |
Grampus griseus | Risso's dolphin | Delphinidae | Least concern | |
Stenella frontalis | Atlantic spotted dolphin | Delphinidae | Data Deficient | |
Stenella coeruleoalba | striped dolphin | Delphinidae | Data Deficient | |
Stenella attenuata | pantropical spotted dolphin | Delphinidae | Data Deficient | |
Stenella longirostris | spinner dolphin | Delphinidae | Data Deficient | |
Stenella clymene | clymene dolphin | Delphinidae | Data Deficient |
Ungulates
Image | Scientific name | Common name | Family | Conservation concern |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cervus canadensis | elk | Cervidae | Extirpated | |
Odocoileus virginianus | white-tailed deer Virginia deer |
Cervidae | Lowest | |
Dama dama | fallow deer | Cervidae | Exotic | |
Sus scrofa | feral swine | Suidae | Exotic Note: A significant threat to the ecosystem, they compete heavily with native wildlife and destroy natural plant communities | |
Bison bison | American bison American buffalo |
Bovidae | Extirpated Note: Domestic herds have been reintroduced on farms.[9][10][11] |
References
- ^ a b Mirarchi, Ralph E. (2004). Alabama Wildlife: Volume One. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. pp. 185–202. ISBN 978-0-81735-1304.
- ^ Alden, Peter (1999). National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southeastern States. New York, New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 350–375. ISBN -0-679-44683-4.
- ^ a b "Bats". Outdoor Alabama. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
- ^ a b "Carnivores". Outdoor Alabama. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
- ^ a b "Insectivores". Outdoor Alabama. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
- ^ a b "Rabbits". Outdoor Alabama. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
- ^ a b "Rodents". Outdoor Alabama. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Mammals". Outdoor Alabama. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
- ^ "On a farm in south Alabama, the buffalo roam in herds". Gadsden Times. April 2, 2000.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Former aerospace manager raising bison". The Tuscaloosa News. December 28, 1996.
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(help) - ^ "Wiregrass Buffalo". WTVY 4. February 23, 2007. Retrieved October 15, 2012.