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List of mammals of Panama

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This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Panama. Among the mammals in Panama, two are classified as critically endangered, seven are endangered, eleven are vulnerable and three are near threatened. One species is classified as extinct.[1]

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status according to assessment done by the International Union for Conservation of Nature:

EX Extinct No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
EW Extinct in the wild Known only to survive in captivity or as a naturalized populations well outside its previous range.
CR Critically endangered The species is in imminent risk of extinction in the wild.
EN Endangered The species is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
VU Vulnerable The species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
NT Near threatened The species does not meet any of the criteria that would categorise it as risking extinction but it is likely to do so in the future.
LC Least concern There are no current identifiable risks to the species.
DD Data deficient There is inadequate information to make an assessment of the risks to this species.

In the table below, the species were assessed by using an older set of criteria. Species assessed using this system are classified as the following instead of near threatened and least concern categories:

LR/cd Lower risk/conservation dependent Species which were the focus of conservation programmes and may have moved into a higher risk category if that programme was discontinued.
LR/nt Lower risk/near threatened Species which are close to being classified as vulnerable but are not the subject of conservation programmes.
LR/lc Lower risk/least concern Species for which there are no identifiable risks.

Subclass: Theria

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Infraclass: Metatheria

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Order: Didelphimorphia (common opossums)

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Common opossum

Didelphimorphia is the order of common opossums of the Western Hemisphere. Opossums probably diverged from the basic South American marsupials in the late Cretaceous or early Paleocene. They are small to medium-sized marsupials, about the size of a large house cat, with a long snout and prehensile tail.

Infraclass: Eutheria

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Order: Sirenia (manatees and dugongs)

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West Indian manatees

Sirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit rivers, estuaries, coastal marine waters, swamps, and marine wetlands. All four species are endangered.

Order: Cingulata (armadillos)

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Nine-banded armadillo

Armadillos are small mammals with a bony armored shell. Two of twenty-one extant species are still present in Panama; the remainder are only found in South America, where they originated. Their much larger relatives, the pampatheres and glyptodonts, once lived in North and South America but went extinct following the appearance of humans.

Order: Pilosa (anteaters, sloths and tamanduas)

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Brown-throated three-toed sloth
Silky anteater
Giant anteater

The order Pilosa is extant only in the Americas and includes the anteaters, sloths, and tamanduas.

Order: Primates

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Geoffroy's spider monkey
Panamanian white-headed capuchin
Central American squirrel monkey

The order Primates includes humans and their closest relatives: lemurs, lorisoids, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes. All the non-human Panamanian primates are New World monkeys.

Order: Rodentia (rodents)

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Red-tailed squirrel

Rodents make up the largest order of mammals, with over 40% of mammalian species. They have two incisors in the upper and lower jaw which grow continually and must be kept short by gnawing. Most rodents are small unlike the capybara which can weigh up to 45 kg (99 lb).

Order: Lagomorpha (lagomorphs)

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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 20th 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: Eulipotyphla (shrews, hedgehogs, moles, and solenodons)

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Eulipotyphlans are insectivorous mammals. Shrews and solenodons closely resemble mice, hedgehogs carry spines, while moles are stout-bodied burrowers.

Order: Chiroptera (bats)

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Mexican free-tailed bats
Honduran white bats
Common vampire bat

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

Order: Cetacea (whales)

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Blue whale
Humpback whale
Pantropical spotted dolphin
Killer whales

The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. They are the mammals most fully adapted to aquatic life with a spindle-shaped nearly hairless body, protected by a thick layer of blubber, and forelimbs and tail modified to provide propulsion underwater.

Order: Carnivora (carnivorans)

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Ocelot
Coyote
Long-tailed weasel

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

Order: Perissodactyla (odd-toed ungulates)

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Baird's tapir

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)

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Collared peccary

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.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ This list is derived from the IUCN Red List which lists species of mammals and includes those mammals that have recently been classified as extinct (since 1500 AD). The taxonomy and naming of the individual species is based on those used in existing Wikipedia articles as of 21 May 2007 and supplemented by the common names and taxonomy from the IUCN, Smithsonian Institution, or University of Michigan where no Wikipedia article was available.
  2. ^ Lucherini, M. (2015). "Cerdocyon thous". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T4248A81266293. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T4248A81266293.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  3. ^ Fenner, K. (2012). "Tremarctos ornatus". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 13 October 2023.

References

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