Mammals
& Other Wildlife
(land & marine)
in Europe
including the Canary
Islands,
off the northwest coast of Africa
noting those
during FONT tours
with an (*)
1991 thru 2007
List compiled by Armas Hill
PHOTO AT UPPER RIGHT:
a SPANISH IBEX photographed during a FONT tour in the Gredos Mountains of
Spain
Codes:
CI: Canary Islands
FR: France
HU: Hungary
IC: Iceland
PO: Poland
RM: Romania
SP: Spain, with those in Gibraltar (g) & nearby Morocco (m)
SW: Sweden
(i): introduced
(p): seen offshore
Links:
Upcoming
FONT Birding & Nature Tours in Europe
Cumulative List of Birds during FONT Birding &
Nature Tours in Europe
Directory of Photos in this Website, in this list & others
List of European Mammals:
MOONRATS
& HEDGEHOGS (Family Erinaceidae) (21 species worldwide)
- Western Hedgehog (*) ______ SP
Erinaceus europaeus
- Eastern Hedgehog (*) ______ HU,PO
Erinaceus concolor
RABBITS & HARES (in the Order Lagomorpha, Family
Leporidae) (57 species worldwide)
- European Hare (*) ______ PO,SP,SW
(some
authorities consider a race on the southern Iberian Peninsula to be the
African species, Lepus capensis)
Lepus europaeus
- European Rabbit (*) ______ SP,SW
(Note Eastern Cottontail
of North America has been
introduced to northern Spain & France. Eastern Cottontail
immune to myxomatosis)
Oryctolagus cuniculus (the single member of its genus)
RODENTS: gnawing mammals (order Rodentia - the largest
order of mammals with nearly 2,000 species worldwide)
Families include:
Squirrels (Sciuridae)
Beavers (Castoridae)
Voles & Lemmings (Arvicolinae)
True Mice & Rats (Subfamily Murinae)
-
Red Squirrel (*) ______ FR,PO,SP,SW
Sciurus vulgaris
-
Alpine Marmot (*) ______ SP
Marmota marmota
-
Spotted Souslik (*) ______ PO
Spermophilus suslicus
- European Beaver (*) ______ PO
Castor fiber
- European Water Vole (*) ______ PO
Arvicola terrestris
- Cabrera's Vole (*) ______ SP
Microtus (formerly Agricola) cabrerae
- Long-tailed Field Mouse (has been
called Wood Mouse) (*) ______ PO,SP
Apodemus sylvaticus
CARNIVORES (Order Carnivora)
Families include:
Canines: Dogs & Foxes (Canidae)
Felines: Cats (Felicae)
Bears: (Ursidae)
Mustelids: Weasels & allies (Mustelidae)
CANINES, Dogs & Foxes (Family Canidae) (35 species worldwide)
-
Arctic Fox (*) ______ IC
Vulpes (formerly Alopex) lagopus
-
Red Fox (*) ______ HU,PO,SP (now considered
conspecific with Red Fox of North America) (NOTE AT END OF LIST)
Vulpes vulpes
FELINES, Cats (Family Felidae) (39 species worldwide)
- Eurasian Lynx (*) ______ PO
Felis (formerly Lynx) lynx
- Spanish Lynx (has also been called Pardel
Lynx) (*) ______ SP
(a relict population of the Eurasian Lynx
- a smaller-sized animal) (restricted to southwest Spain & nearby
Portugal, critically endangered)
Felis (formerly Lynx) pardina
BEARS (Family Ursiodae) (8 species worldwide)
- Brown Bear (*) ______ RM
(considered
conspecific with Grizzly Bear
of North America; the Brown Bear in Eurasia & North America has a
number of subspecies.)
Ursus arctos
MUSTELIDS, Otters, Weasels, & Badgers (Family
Mustelidae) (68 species worldwide)
- Stoat (*) ______ PO (considered
conspecific with the Ermine,
of North America, where it was formerly called Short-tailed Weasel)
Mustela erminea
- Least Weasel (*) ______ SP
(also occurs in North America)
Mustela nivalis
- American Mink (*) ______ IC
(i)
Mustela vison
- Western Polecat (*) ______ SP
Mustela putorius
- Pine Marten (*) ______ PO
Martes martes
- Eurasian Otter (*) ______ PO
Lutra lutra
SHREWS (in the Order Soricodae, Family Soricidae) (335
species worldwide)
BATS (order Chiroptera - with about 950 species worldwide, the diversity of
bats is second only to that of rodents)
-
Natterer's Bat (*) ______ SP
Myotis nattereri
- Common Pipistrelle (*) ______ HU,SP
Pipistrellus pipistrellus
- Kuhl's Pipistrelle (*) ______ SP
Pipistrellus kuhlii
OLD WORLD MONKEYS (in the Order Primates, the Family Cercopithecidae) (132
species in the Old World)
- Barbary Macaque (*) ______ SP(g)
(i)
(native range: in mountains of Morocco & Algeria, formerly
Libya) (NOTE AT END OF LIST)
Macaca sylvanus
EVEN-TOED UNGULATES (order Artiodactyla)
(This order, worldwide, is diverse, including: pigs, hippopotamuses, camels,
deer, antelope, and cattle.)
PIGS (Family Sulidae) (17 species in the Old World)
- Wild Boar (*) ______ PO,RM,SP
Sus scrofa
Deer (Family Cervidae) (47 species worldwide)
- Red Deer / European Stag (*) ______ PO,RM,SP,SW
(conspecific with the Elk
of North America)
Cervus elaphus
- Fallow Deer (*) ______ SP,SW
(i)
(native range: the woods of southern Turkey) (NOTE AT END OF LIST)
Dama dama
Fallow Deer
(photo during the FONT Sept 2007 Sweden Tour by James
Scheib)
- Elk (*) ______ PO,SW
(conspecific with the Moose
of North America)
Alces alces
Elk
(called
Moose
in North America)
(photo during FONT Sept 2007 Sweden Tour by James Scheib)
- Reindeer (*) ______ IC
(i)
(NOTE AT END OF LIST)
Rangifer tarandus (the single member of its genus)
Reindeer, photographed during a FONT October Iceland Tour
(photo by Claude Bloch)
- Western Roe Deer (*) ______ HU,PO,SP,SW
Capreolus capreolus
SHEEP, GOATS, BISON, & MUSKOX (Family Bovidae) (141 species worldwide)
- European Bison (or Wisent) (*) ______ PO
(reintroduced in Poland) (formerly widely in forests of Europe &
Russia) (endangered) (NOTE AT END OF LIST)
Bison bonasus
- Pyrenean Chamois
(has also been called Isard) (*) ______ FR,SP
Rupicapra pyrenaica
(formerly part of Rupicapra rupicapra, Chamois)
- Spanish Ibex (*) ______ SP
(endemic to Spain) (IN PHOTOGRAPH AT BEGINNING OF LIST)
Capra pyrenaica
MARINE MAMMALS I - SEALS & SEA LIONS (order Pinnidedia,
"fin-footed")
EARED SEALS, including SEA LIONS & FUR SEALS (Family Otariidae) (14 species
worldwide)
EARLESS SEALS (Family Phocidae) (20 species worldwide)
- Harbor Seal
(*) ______ IC,SW
Phoca v. vitulina ("Eastern Atlantic" Harbor Seal)
Harbor Seal
(photo during FONT Sept 2007 Sweden Tour by
James Scheib)
- Grey Seal (*) ______
IC,SW
Halichoerus grypus (the single member of its genus)
MARINE MAMMALS II - PORPOISES, DOLPHINS, & WHALES
(Order Cetacea)
TOOTHED WHALES (Suborder Odontoceti) includes: Dolphins & Porpoises, the
Beaked Whales, Sperm Whales, the Beluga and Narwhal)
MARINE DOLPHINS (Family Delphinidae) (34 species worldwide)
- Striped Dolphin (*) ______ SP
(p)
Stenella coeruleoalba
- Short-beaked Common Dolphin (*) ______ CI,SP
(p) (also called
"Saddleback Dolphin")
Delphinus delphis
- Common Bottle-nosed Dolphin (*) ______ SP
(p)
Tursiops truncatus
- Long-finned Pilot Whale (*) ______ SP(m)(p)
(has also been called "Blackfish")
Globicephala melas (formerly melaena)
- Short-finned Pilot Whale ______ CI
(p) (has also been called "Blackfish")
Globicephala macrorhynchus
GREAT SPERM WHALE (Family Physeteridae) (1 species
worldwide)
- Great Sperm Whale ______ SP(m)
(p) (has also been called Cachalot)
Physeter catadon
(formerly Physeter macrocephalus) (the single member of
its genus & family)
Notes:
Barbary Macaque: There's a naturalized population (of 30-40 animals) on
the Rock of Gibraltar that originated from North African stock.
Fossils indicate the animal was widespread through Europe during the
Pleistocene. Claims that some may have survived in southern Spain until the
1890's are unlikely to be correct.
Red Fox: The most widespread, and abundant, wild carnivore in the world.
Fallow Deer: Extinct in Europe following the last glaciation, except for pockets
around the Mediterranean. Now abundant following widespread introductions.
Reindeer: First introduced into Iceland in 1771 - 13 from northern Norway.
There were further introductions. Numbers increased and peaked in the mid-19th
Century. The population then declined rapidly, until less than 200 were left in
1940. Now, only in eastern Iceland, numbers have increased again, and are
stabilized at about 3,000.
(European) Bison: Extinct in the wild in 1919. (In Roman times, found in
Germany and Belgium, with records of herds of many thousands on migration.)
Reintroduced to the wild from zoos, particularly in the Bialowiecza Forest in
Poland. Total population now 1500-2000.
