Mammals
& Other Wildlife
(land & marine)
in Japan
noting those
during FONT tours
1991 thru 2008
with an (*)
A list compiled by Armas Hill
In the list, Japanese names follow
those in English.
PHOTO AT RIGHT: A JAPANESE SEROW
photographed during a FONT tour on the island of Honshu
Codes:
AM: Amami Island
HK: Hokkaido
HN: Honshu
KY: Kyushu
NS: the islands of Nansei Shoto (from the ferry between Amami & Okinawa)
OK: Okinawa
(p): seen pelagically
Links:
Upcoming
FONT Birding & Nature Tours in Japan
List of Birds during previous FONT Tours in Japan
List
of Japanese Butterflies
Directory
of Photos in this Website, in this list & others
List of Japanese Mammals:
PIKAS (in the Order Lagomorpha, Family
Ochotonidae) (26 species worldwide)
- Northern Pika (Naki-usagi) (*) ______ HK
(range: Siberia, northeast China, north Korea, and Hokkaido, Japan)
Ochotona hyperborea yesoensis
RABBITS & HARES (in the Order Lagomorpha,
Family Leporidae) (57 species worldwide)
- Amami Rabbit (Amami-no-kuro-usagi)
(*) (endemic to Japan) ______ AM
(on Amami Island only, endangered)
Pentalagus furnessi
Amami Rabbit
- Japanese Hare (No-usagi) (*) (endemic to Japan)
______ HN
Lepus brachyurus brachyurus
Lepus brachyurus angustidens
Lepus brachyurus okiensis
Lepus brachyurus lyoni
- Mountain Hare (Yuki-usagi)
______ HK
Lepus timidus ainu
RODENTS: gnawing mammals (Order Rodentia - the largest order of mammals with nearly 2,000
species worldwide)
Families include:
Squirrels (Sciuridae)
Voles, Lemmings, and Muskrats (Arvicolinae)
True Mice & Rats (Muridae)
Dormice (Gliridae)
- Japanese Squirrel
(Nihon-risu) (*) (endemic to Japan) ______
HN (IN PHOTOGRAPH ABOVE)
Sciurus lis
Japanese Squirrel
Photographed
by Paul West during a FONT tour
in Honshu, Japan, April 2001.
- Eurasian Red Squirrel (Ezo-risu)
(*) ______ HK
Sciurus vulgaris orientis
- Siberian (or Asian) Chipmunk (Shima-risu) (*) ______ HK
Tamias sibiricus lineatus
- Grey-bellied Squirrel (Taiwan-risu) ______ (also
called Formosan Tree-Squirrel) (introduced in southern Japan:
Ryukyu Islands)
Callosciurus caniceps
- Japanese Flying Squirrel (endemic to
Japan) ______ HN,KY
Pteromys momonga
- Siberian Flying Squirrel (Momonga)
______ HK
Pteromys volans orii
- Japanese Giant Flying Squirrel (Musasabi) (*) ______ HN
Petaurista leucogenys
- Japanese Grass Vole ______
Microtus montebelli
- Grey-sided Vole (*) ______ HK
Clethrionomys rufocanus bedfordiae
- Ruddy Vole ______
Clethrionomys rutilus mikado HK
- Japanese Red-backed Vole (endemic to Japan)
______ HN
Phaulomys andersoni
- Smith's Vole (endemic to Japan) ______
Phaulomys smithiipermophilus mexicanus
- Korean Field Mouse ______ HK
(range: eastern Asia)
Apodemus peninsulae giliacus
- Large Japanese Fieldmouse (*)
______ KY
Apodemus speciosus
- Ryukyu Mouse ______ (range: southern
Japan, southern China, and Indochina)
Mus caroli
- Ryukyu Spiny Rat (Amami-togenezumi)
(*) (also called Amami Spinous
Mouse) (endemic to Japan) ______ AM
(only on Amami Island, endangered)
Tokudaia osimensis
- Muennink's Spiny Rat (endemic to Japan)
______ OK (only on Okinawa, critically endangered)
Tokudaia muenninki
- Brown Rat (*) ______ HK
(also
called Common Rat or, incorrectly, Norway Rat)
(introduced worldwide with human settlements, originally from southeast
Siberia & northern China)
Rattus norvegicus
- Ryukyu (Tree) Rat (Kenaga-nezumi)
(*) (endemic to Japan) ______
AM (on Ryukyu islands)
Diplothrix (formerly Rattus) legatus
- Japanese Dormouse (Yamana) (endemic to Japan) ______
(endangered)
Glirulus
japonicus
CARNIVORES (Order Carnivora)
Families include:
Genets & Civets: (Viverridae)
Mongooses: (Herpestidae)
Canines: Dogs & Foxes (Canidae)
Felines: Cats (Felidae)
Bears: (Ursidae)
Procyonids: Raccoons & allies (Procyonidae)
Mustelids: Weasels, Skunks & allies (Mustelidae)
GENETS & CIVETS (Family Viverridae) (37 species worldwide)
- Masked Palm Civet (Hakubishin) ______ (introduced
in Japan)
Paguma larvata
MONGOOSES (Family Herpestidae) (38 species worldwide)
- Small Indian Mongoose (*) ______ AM,OK
(introduced in Ryukyu islands, Japan)
Herpestes auropunctatus
- Indian Grey Mongoose (*) ______ OK
(introduced, locally in Ryukyu islands, Japan)
Herpestes edwardsii
CANINES, Dogs & Foxes (Family Canidae): (35 species worldwide)
- Red Fox (Kitsune) (*) _____ HK
Vulpes vulpes schrencki (Hokkaido)
Vulpes vulpes japonica (other islands) (considered by some as conspecific with the
North American Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes
fulva)
Red Fox
(photo by Doris Potter)
- Raccoon Dog (Tanuki)
(*) ______ KY
Nyctereutes procyonoides albus
(Hokkaido)
Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus
(Honshu & Kyushu)
FELINES, Cats (Family Felidae) (39 species worldwide)
- Leopard Cat (Tsushima-yamaneko) ______ (also
called Small-eared Cat) (range:
Afghanistan to Korea, south to Vietnam, also Philippines) (in Japan, on
islands in the Sea of Japan)
Felis bengalensis euptilura
- Iriomote Cat (Iriomote-yamaaneko) (endemic
to Japan) ______
(only on Iriomote Island)
Felis iriomotensis
BEARS (Family Ursidae) (8 species worldwide)
- Asiatic Black Bear (Tsukinowaguma)
______
HN
Urus thibetanus
- Brown (or
Grizzly)
Bear (Higuma) ______
HK
Ursus arctos yesoensis (Ursus
arctos has also been
Ursus horribilis)
(The Brown Bear of North America, Europe, and Asia is now by
most considered as a single species.)
- Polar Bear ______ HK
(has occurred in far-northern Japan, but very rarely)
Thalarctos maritimus
MUSTELIDS, Otters, Weasels, and Badgers (Family Mustelidae) (68 species
worldwide)
- Eurasian Otter (Nihon-kawa-uso) ______
Lutra lutra nippon
- Sea Otter (Rakko)
______ (endangered) (if still in
Japan, very rare there)
Enhydra lutris
- Japanese Marten (Ten) (*) (endemic to Japan) ______
HN,KY
(also called Yellow Marten)
Martes melampus
melampus (Honshu)
Martes melampus tsuensis (southern islands)
- Sable (Kuro-ten) ______ HK
Martes zibellina
brachyura
- Stoat (or Ermine) ______
Mustela erminea
orientalis (Hokkaido)
Mustela erminea nippon
(Honshu)
- Least Weasel ______
Mustela nivalis nivalis (Hokkaido)
Mustela nivalis namiyae
(Honshu)
- Siberian Weasel ______
Mustela sibirica
- Eurasian Badger (Ana-guma) (*) ______
HN
Meles meles anakura
MOLES, SHREW-MOLES, and DESMANS (Family Talpidae) (42 species worldwide)
- Echigo Mole (endemic
to Japan) ______ (only on Echigo Plain on Honshu, endangered)
Talpa (formerly Mogera) etigo
- Tokudoa's Mole (endemic
to Japan) ______ (only
on Sado Island, endangered)
Talpa (formerly
Mogera) tokudae
- Japanese Mole
(endemic
to Japan) ______
Talpa (formerly Mogera) wogura
- True's Shrew-Mole (*) (endemic to
Japan) ______ KY
Urotrichus pilirostris
- Japanese Shrew-Mole (*) (endemic to
Japan) ______ KY
Urotrichus talpoides
SHREWS (in the Order Soricodae, Family Soricidae) (335 species worldwide)
- Eurasian Least Shrew ______ HK
(range:
northern Europe east to eastern Siberia, Korea, and Hokkaido, Japan)
Sorex minutissimus hawkeri
- Sado Shrew (endemic
to Japan) ______ (on Sado Island, endangered)
Sorex sadonis
- Lesser White-toothed
Shrew ______ (range: Europe east to
Japan & Taiwan) (in Japan, only on islands in Sea of Japan)
Crocidura suaveolens shantungensis
- Asian House Shrew ______
(range: Afghanistan to China, & Japan & Taiwan)
Suncus murinus
BATS (Order Chiroptera - with about 950 species worldwide, the
diversity of bats is second only to that of rodents)
Old World Fruit Bats (Family Pteropodidae) (177 species in the Old World)
- Bonin Flying Fox (endemic to Japan)
______ (only on Bonin & Volcano Islands, critically endangered)
Pteropus pselaphon
- Ryukyu Flying Fox (O-komon) (*) ______ OK
(range: in Japan, southern Kyushu & Ryukyu islands, also
Taiwan; endangered)
Pteropus dasymallus
dasymallus
Pteropus dasymallus inopinatus (Okinawa)
Pteropus dasymallus daitoensis
Pteropus dasymallus yayeyamae
Horseshoe Bats (Family Rhinolophidae) (145 species worldwide)
- Little Japanese Horseshoe Bat
(*) (endemic to
Japan) ______ HN
Rhinolophus cornutus
- Greater Horseshoe Bat ______ (range: across
Eurasia)
Rhinolophus ferrumequinum
- Lesser Roundleaf Bat ______ (range:
in Japan, southern Ryukyu islands, also Thailand; endangered)
Hipposideros turpis
Free-tailed Bats (Family Molossidae) (94 species worldwide)
- Latouche's Free-tailed
Bat ______ (range: most commonly China & Thailand, but has occurred on
Ryukyu islands, southern Japan)
Tadarida latouchei
Vesper Bats (Family Vespertilionidae) (364 species worldwide)
- Eastern Barbastelle ______
Barbastella leucomelas darjelingensis
- Brown Long-eared Bat ______
Plecotus auritus
- Savi's Pipistrelle ______ (range:
southern Europe east to China & Japan, south to India & Myanmar)
Pipistrellus
(formerly Hypsugo) savii
- Endo's Pipistrelle ______ (endangered)
Pipistrellus endoi
- Bird-like Noctule ______
Nyctalus aviator
- Big-footed Myotis ______
Myotis macrodactylus
- Natterer's Bat ______
Myotis nattereri
- Fraternal Myotis ______ (range:
Afghanistan east to Japan)
Myotis frater
- Okinawa Myotis (endemic to Japan) ______
(only on Okinawa)
Myotis yanbarensis
- Greater Tube-nosed Bat ______ (range:
Kazakhstan east to Japan)
Murina leucogaster hilgendorti
- Ussuri Tube-nosed Bat ______
(endangered) (range: eastern Siberia, Korea, and Japan)
Murina ussuriensis
silvatica
- Ryukyu Tube-nosed Bat (endemic to Japan)
______ (on Ryukyu islands)
Murina ryukyuana
- Gloomy Tube-nosed Bat (endemic to Japan)
______ (on Tsushima Island, critically endangered)
Murina
tenebrosa
OLD WORLD MONKEYS (in the Order Primates, the Family Cercopithecidae) (132
species in the Old World)
- Japanese Macaque (Nihonzaru) (*) (endemic to Japan) ______ HN,KY
(popularly
called "Snow Monkey")
Macaca fuscata
fuscata (Honshu & Kyushu)
Macaca fuscata yakui (Ryukyu islands)
EVEN-TOED UNGULATES (Order Artiodactyla)
(This order worldwide is diverse, including: pigs, hippopotamuses, camels,
deer, antelope, and cattle.)
PIGS (Family Suidae) (17 species in the Old World)
-
Eurasian Wild Boar (Inoshishi) (*) ______ KY,OK
Sus scrofa leucomystax (*) (Honshu &
Kyushu)
Sus scrofa riukiuanus
(*) (Okinawa)
DEER (Family Cervidae) (47 species worldwide)
- Sika Deer (Shika) (*) ______ HK,KY (range:
native to forests of eastern Siberia, Korea, eastern China, and Japan)
Cervus nippon yesoensis (*) (Hokkaido)
Cervus nippon centralis (Honshu)
Cervus nippon nippon (*) (Kyushu)
Cervus nippon pulchellus (Ryukyu Islands)
Sika Deer in the woods in Hokkaido,
photographed during the FONT Jan/Feb 2009 Tour in Japan
(photo by Karl Frafjord)
SHEEP, GOATS, BISON, & MUSKOX (Family Bovidae) (141 species
worldwide)
- Japanese Serow (Kamoshika) (*) (endemic to Japan) ______ HN (IN
PHOTOGRAPH AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS LIST)
Capricornis crispus
MARINE MAMMALS I - SEALS & SEA LIONS (Order Pinnidedia,
"fin-footed")
EARED SEALS, including SEA LIONS & FUR SEALS (Family Otariidae)
(14 species worldwide)
- Steller's (or Northern)
Sea Lion (Todo) (*) ______ HK
Eumetopias jubatus
(Males are nearly 10 feet long, and can weigh up to 2,200 pounds; females
up 6.6 feet in length, and weighing up to 660 pounds.)
(As info: The smallest adult Steller's Sea Lion
is larger than the largest California Sea Lion)
- Northern Fur Seal (Ottosei)
(*) ______ HK,HN(p)
Callorbinnus ursinus
EARLESS SEALS (Family Phocidae) (20 species worldwide)
- Harbor Seal (Gomafu-azarashi)
(*) ______ HK
Phoca vitulina stejnegeri
(this subspecies known as the Kurile Seal (Zenigata-azarashi) Phoca
kurilensis, by some
said to be a distinct species. It is larger and more sexually dimorphic)
(range from 3.9 to 5.9 feet in length, weigh
from 99 to 230 pounds)
- Largha
(or Spotted) Seal ______ HK
Phoca largha
- Ringed Seal ______ HK
Phoca hispida ochotensis
- Ribbon Seal (Kurakaka-azarashi) ______ HK
Histriophoca fasciata
- Bearded Seal ______
HK
Erignathus barbatus nauticus
- Northern Elephant Seal ______ HK
Mirounga angustirostris
(Males can be over 16 feet in length,
and weigh up to 4,400 pounds; females weigh up to 1,760 pounds.)
WALRUS (formerly in Family Odobenidae, now in Family Phocidae)
- Walrus ______ HK
Odobenus rosmarus
SIRENIANS (Order Sirenia)
DUGONG (Family Dugongidae) (1 species, in the Old World)
- Dugong ______ (in the Ryukyu
islands) (closely related to the manatees, or "Sea Cows")
Dugong dugon
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)
- Short-beaked Common Dolphin (*) ______ NS
(also
called "Saddleback Dolphin")
Delphinus delphis
- Long-beaked Common Dolphin (*) ______ KY
Delphinus capensis
- Common Bottle-nosed Dolphin (*) ______
NS
Tursiops truncatus
- Pantropical Spotted Dolphin ______
Stenella attenuata
- Striped Dolphin ______
Stenella coeruleoalba
- Spinner Dolphin ______
Stenella longirostris
- Frazer's Dolphin ______
Lagenodelphia hosei
- Rough-toothed Dolphin (*) ______ NS
Steno bredanensis
- Northern Right Whale Dolphin ______
Lissodelphis borealis
- Pacific White-sided Dolphin (Kama-iruka)
(*) ______ HK
Lagenorhynchus obliquidens
(Up to just over 7 feet in length; up to
about 200 pounds in weight.)
- Risso's Dolphin (*) ______ (also
called Gray Grampus)
Grampus griseus
(Up to nearly 12 feet in length; up to 900
pounds in weight.)
- Orca (*) ______ (has also been called Killer Whale or "Sea Wolf")
Orcinus orca
(Males up to 30 feet in length, females up to
27 feet; males weigh up to 5 tons, females up to 3 tons. The male's dorsal
fin can be 6 feet high; that of the female about 2 feet in height)
(One of the fastest swimming whales, with a maximum recorded speed of 30
knots maintained for 20 minutes.)
- False Killer Whale ______
Pseudorca crassidens
- Pygmy Killer Whale ______
Feresa attenuata
- Melon-headed Whale ______
Peponocephala electra
- Long-finned Pilot Whale ______ (has also been called "Blackfish")
Globicephala melas
- Short-finned Pilot Whale ______
(has also been
called "Blackfish")
Globicephala macrorhynchus
(Males up to over 22 feet in length; females
up to over 16 feet long. Males weigh to to 2,640 pounds; females up to 1,760
pounds.)
PORPOISES (Family Phocoenidae) (6 species worldwide)
- Finless Porpoise ______
Neophocaena phocaenoides
- Harbor Porpoise (*) ______
Phocoena phocoena
- Dall's Porpoise (*) ______
Phocoenoides dalli
(Up to 6.6 feet in length, up to 330 pounds in weight.)
BEAKED WHALES (formerly Family Ziphiidae, now Family Hyperoodontidae)
(21 species worldwide)
(Pelagic in habitat, most are poorly known)
- Stejneger's Beaked Whale ______
Mesoplodon stejnegeri
- Hubb's Beaked Whale ______ (temperate
coastal waters off NE Honshu, central Japan; also off western North America)
Mesoplodon carihubbsi
- Cuvier's Beaked Whale ______ (has also been called Goosebeak Whale)
Ziphius cavirostris
- Blainville's Beaked Whale ______
Mesoplodon densirostris
- Ginkgo-toothed Beaked Whale ______
(warm-temperate waters near Japan & Taiwan)
Mesoplodon ginkgodens
- Baird's Beaked Whale ______
Berardius bairdii
- Longman's Beaked Whale
______ (very few records from the southern Pacific & Indian Oceans,
recorded in far-southern Japan)
Indopacetus pacificus
GREAT SPERM WHALE (Family Physeteridae) (1 species worldwide)
- (Great) Sperm Whale (*) ______ (has also been called Cachalot)
Physeter catodon
PYGMY SPERM WHALES (Family Kogiidae) (2 species worldwide)
- Pygmy Sperm Whale ______
Kogia breviceps
- Dwarf Sperm Whale ______
Kogia sima
BALEEN WHALES - whales without teeth (Suborder
Mysticeti)
GRAY WHALE (formerly in its own Family Eschrichtiidae, now in the
Family Balaenopteridae)
- Gray Whale ______
(Other names:
"Mussel-digger", "Scrag Whale")
Eschrichtius robustus
(Females are larger than males: females up to over 46 feet long, males up
to over 42 feet long; the animal's weight can be up to 33 tons)
(In the western Pacific, the population (off Korea) may now be extinct.)
RORQUAL (or FINBACK) WHALES (Family Balaenopteridae) (8 species worldwide)
- Humpback Whale (*) ______ NS
(winters in waters around Ryukyu islands)
Megaptera novaeanliae
(up to over 52 feet in length, weighing up to 44 tons)
- Northern Minke Whale (*) ______ (has also been called Piked Whale or
Lesser Rorqual)
Balacnoptera acutorostrata
(formerly, until 1998, considered conspecific with southern population,
now Antarctic Minke Whale, B.
bonaerensis)
(up to about 30 feet in length,
weighing up to nearly 10 tons)
- Bryde's Whale (*) ______
Balaenoptera brydei
- Sei Whale (*) ______
Balaenoptera borealis
- Fin Whale (*) ______ (has also been called Common Rorqual)
Balaenoptera physalus
- Blue Whale ______ (has also been called "Sulphurbottom")
Balaenoptera musculus
(the largest of all mammals)
RIGHT
& BOWHEAD WHALES (Family Balaenidae) (5 species worldwide)
- North Pacific Right
Whale ______ (endangered)
Balaena (formerly Eubalaena) japonica (formerly part of
Balaena (Eubalaena)
glacialis, and when so called the Northern Right
Whale)
- Bowhead Whale ______
(rarely south to Japan)
Balaena mysticetus
References for the above mammal-list include:
the new book:
"Mammals of the World, A Checklist" by Andrew Duff & Ann
Lawson, published by Yale Univ Press, 2004.
"Mammals in Japan": Field Best Encyclopedia Vol. 12, 2002
"Eyewitness Handbook: Whales, Dolphins & Porpoises - a Visual Guide to
the World's Cetaceans", by Mark Carwardine, illustrated by Martin Camm,
1995
"World Guide to Mammals" by Nicole Duplaix
& Noel Simon, 1976
"The Encyclopedia of Mammals", edited by Dr. David Macdonald, 1984
