List of mammals of Great Britain

Template:Short description Template:Wildlife of Great Britain This is a list of mammals of Great Britain. The diversity of mammal fauna of Great Britain is somewhat impoverished compared to that of Continental Europe, due to the short period of time between the last ice age and the flooding of the land bridge between Great Britain and the rest of Europe. Only those land species which crossed before the creation of the English Channel and those introduced by humans exist in Great Britain.

Native (usually synonymous with "indigenous") species are considered to be species which are today present in the region in question, and have been continuously present in that region since a certain period of time. When applied to Great Britain, three possible definitions of this time constraint are:

• a species that colonised the islands during the glacial retreat at the end of the last ice age (c. 9500 years ago);
• a species that was present when the English Channel was created (c. 8000 years ago); or,
• a species that was present in prehistory.

This list includes mammals from the small islands around Great Britain and the Channel Islands. There are no endemic mammal species in Great Britain, although four distinct subspecies of rodents have arisen on small islands.

The following tags are used to highlight the conservation status of each species' British population, as assessed by Natural England and The Mammal Society in a Regional Red List, following the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Template:IUCN status	Extinct	No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
Template:IUCN status	Extinct in the wild	Known only to survive in captivity or as a naturalised population well outside its previous range.
Template:IUCN status	Critically endangered	The species is in imminent risk of extinction in the wild.
Template:IUCN status	Endangered	The species is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
Template:IUCN status	Vulnerable	The species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
Template:IUCN status	Near threatened	The species does not meet any of the criteria that would categorise it as risking extinction but it is likely to in the future.
Template:IUCN status	Least concern	There are no current identifiable risks to the species.
Template:IUCN status	Data deficient	There is inadequate information to make an assessment of the risks to this species.

Diprotodonts

Order: Diprotodontia

Although marsupials are primarily found in the Australian region, the red-necked wallaby has been introduced to parts of Great Britain. Feral populations breed on the island of Inchconnachan on Loch Lomond in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, and on the Isle of Man. Other colonies have existed in Devon, the Peak District, and the Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, and although these are now believed to be locally extinct, occasional sightings continue.

File:Red-necked wallaby442.jpg

Red-necked wallaby

Family: Macropodidae (kangaroos, wallabies, and kin)

• Red-necked wallaby, Notamacropus rufogriseus Template:IUCN status introduced

Rodents

Order: Rodentia

Rodents are the largest order of mammals, comprising 40% of all species. They are characterised by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws and are native to almost all major landmasses on Earth.

Family: Castoridae (beavers)

• Eurasian beaver, Castor fiber Template:IUCN status globally, Template:IUCN status in Great Britain, reintroduced

Family: Cricetidae (hamsters, voles, and kin)

• European water vole, Arvicola amphibius Template:IUCN status globally, Template:IUCN status in Great Britain
• Short-tailed field vole, Microtus agrestis Template:IUCN status
• Common vole, Microtus arvalis Template:IUCN status
  • Orkney vole, M. a. orcadensis Template:IUCN status
• Bank vole, Myodes glareolus Template:IUCN status

Family: Muridae (mice, rats, and kin)

File:Apodemus sylvaticus (Sardinia).jpg

Wood mouse

• Yellow-necked mouse, Apodemus flavicollis Template:IUCN status
• Wood mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus Template:IUCN status
  • St Kilda field mouse, A. s. hirtensis
• Eurasian harvest mouse, Micromys minutus Template:IUCN status
• House mouse, Mus musculus Template:IUCN status
  • St Kilda house mouse, M. m. muralis Template:IUCN status c. 1930
• Brown rat, Rattus norvegicus Template:IUCN status introduced
• Black rat, Rattus rattus Template:IUCN status introduced

Family: Gliridae (dormice)

• European edible dormouse, Glis glis Template:IUCN status introduced
• Hazel dormouse, Muscardinus avellanarius Template:IUCN status globally, Template:IUCN status in Great Britain

Family: Sciuridae (squirrels)

• Eastern grey squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis Template:IUCN status introduced
• Red squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris Template:IUCN status globally, Template:IUCN status in Great Britain

Lagomorphs

File:Mountain Hare Scotland.jpg

Mountain hare in Scotland

Order: Lagomorpha

The lagomorphs comprise two families, Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and Ochotonidae (pikas). Although 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.

Family: Leporidae (rabbits and hares)

• European hare, Lepus europaeus Template:IUCN status introduced
• Mountain hare, Lepus timidus Template:IUCN status
• European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus Template:IUCN status introduced

Eulipotyphlans

Order: Eulipotyphla

The order Eulipotyphla contains insectivorous mammals. Hedgehogs are easily recognised by their spines, while gymnures look more like large rats. Shrews and solenodons closely resemble mice, while moles are stout-bodied burrowers.

File:Erinaceus europaeus (Marek Szczepanek).jpg

European hedgehog

Family: Talpidae (moles)

• European mole, Talpa europaea Template:IUCN status

Family: Soricidae (shrews)

• Lesser white-toothed shrew, Crocidura suaveolens Template:IUCN status
• Eurasian water shrew, Neomys fodiens Template:IUCN status
• Common shrew, Sorex araneus Template:IUCN status
• Eurasian pygmy shrew, Sorex minutus Template:IUCN status

Family: Erinaceidae (hedgehogs and moonrats)

• European hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus Template:IUCN status globally, Template:IUCN status in Great Britain

Bats

Order: Chiroptera

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.

File:Pipistrellus flight2.jpg

Common pipistrelle bat, Britain's most common species

Family: Rhinolophidae (horseshoe bats)

• Lesser horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus hipposideros Template:IUCN status
• Greater horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum Template:IUCN status

Family: Vespertilionidae (common bats, vesper bats, and kin)

• Western barbastelle, Barbastella barbastellus Template:IUCN status globally, Template:IUCN status in Great Britain
• Serotine bat, Eptesicus serotinus Template:IUCN status globally, Template:IUCN status in Great Britain
• Bechstein's bat, Myotis bechsteini Template:IUCN status
• Brandt's bat, Myotis brandti Template:IUCN status
• Daubenton's bat, Myotis daubentoni Template:IUCN status
• Greater mouse-eared bat, Myotis myotis Template:IUCN status globally, Template:IUCN status or possibly extirpated in Great Britain
• Whiskered bat, Myotis mystacinus Template:IUCN status
• Natterer's bat, Myotis nattereri Template:IUCN status
• Lesser noctule, Nyctalus leisleri Template:IUCN status
• Common noctule, Nyctalus noctula Template:IUCN status
• Nathusius pipistrelle, Pipistrellus nathusii Template:IUCN status
• Common pipistrelle, Pipistrellus pipistrellus Template:IUCN status
• Soprano pipistrelle, Pipistrellus pygmaeus Template:IUCN status
• Brown long-eared bat, Plecotus auritus Template:IUCN status
• Grey long-eared bat, Plecotus austriacus Template:IUCN status globally, Template:IUCN status in Great Britain
• Parti-coloured bat, Vespertilio murinus Template:IUCN status

Carnivorans

Order: Carnivora

There are over 260 species of carnivorans, the majority of which feed primarily on meat. They have a characteristic skull shape and dentition.

File:Mäyrä Ähtäri 4.jpg

European badger

Family: Canidae (dogs)

• Red fox, Vulpes vulpes Template:IUCN status

Family: Mustelidae (weasels, badgers, and kin)

• Eurasian otter, Lutra lutra Template:IUCN status
• European pine marten, Martes martes Template:IUCN status
• European badger, Meles meles Template:IUCN status
• Stoat, Mustela erminea Template:IUCN status,
• Least weasel, Mustela nivalis Template:IUCN status
• European polecat, Mustela putorius Template:IUCN status
• American mink, Neogale vison Template:IUCN status introduced

Family: Felidae (cats)

• European wildcat, Felis silvestris Template:IUCN status globally, Template:IUCN status in Great Britain
  • Scottish wildcat, F. s. silvestris

Family: Phocidae (earless seals)

• Grey seal, Halichoerus grypus Template:IUCN status
• Harbour seal, Phoca vitulina Template:IUCN status

Even-toed ungulates

Order: Artiodactyla

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. Cetaceans are also considered to be even-toed ungulates for phylogenetic reasons.

File:Red deer.jpg

Red deer stag and hinds

Family: Suidae (pigs)

• Wild boar, Sus scrofa Template:IUCN status reintroduced

Family: Cervidae (deer)

• Roe deer, Capreolus capreolus Template:IUCN status
• Siberian roe deer, Capreolus pygargus Template:IUCN status, introduced, extirpated
• Red deer, Cervus elaphus Template:IUCN status
  • Scottish red deer, C. e. scoticus
• Sika deer, Cervus nippon Template:IUCN status introduced
• European fallow deer, Dama dama Template:IUCN status introduced
• Water deer, Hydropotes inermis Template:IUCN status introduced
• Reeves's muntjac, Muntiacus reevesi Template:IUCN status introduced

Family: Bovidae (cattle, bison, and kin)

• European bison, Bison bonasus Template:IUCN status reintroduced

Whales and dolphins

Order: Cetacea

File:Delphinus delphis 03-cropped.jpg

Short-beaked common dolphin

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

Family: Balaenidae (right whales and bowhead whales)

• North Atlantic right whale, Eubalaena glacialis Template:IUCN status globally, possibly extant in Great Britain

Family: Balaenopteridae (rorquals)

• Common minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata Template:IUCN status
• Sei whale, Balaenoptera borealis Template:IUCN status
• Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus Template:IUCN status
• Fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus Template:IUCN status
• Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae Template:IUCN status

Family: Phocoenidae (porpoises)

• Harbour porpoise, Phocoena phocoena Template:IUCN status globally, Template:IUCN status in Europe

Family: Physeteridae (sperm whales)

• Sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus Template:IUCN status

Family: Kogiidae (pygmy and dwarf sperm whales)

• Pygmy sperm whale, K. breviceps Template:IUCN status

Family: Ziphiidae (beaked whales)

• Cuvier's beaked whale, Ziphius cavirostris Template:IUCN status
• Northern bottlenose whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus Template:IUCN status
• Sowerby's beaked whale, Mesoplodon bidens Template:IUCN status
• Gervais' beaked whale, Mesoplodon europaeus Template:IUCN status
• True's beaked whale, Mesoplodon mirus Template:IUCN status

Family: Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins)

• White-beaked dolphin, Lagenorhynchus albirostris Template:IUCN status
• Atlantic white-sided dolphin, Lagenorhynchus acutus Template:IUCN status
• False killer whale, Pseudorca crassidens Template:IUCN status
• Common dolphin, Delphinus delphis Template:IUCN status
• Common bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus Template:IUCN status
• Striped dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba Template:IUCN status
• Risso's dolphin, Grampus griseus Template:IUCN status
• Orca, Orcinus orca Template:IUCN status

Locally extinct

• Eurasian elk, Alces alces
• Grey wolf, Canis lupus
• Wolverine, Gulo gulo
• Eurasian lynx, Lynx lynx
• Reindeer, Rangifer tarandus
• Brown bear, Ursus arctos

See also

• Biota of the Isle of Man
• List of endemic species of the British Isles
• List of extinct animals of the British Isles
• List of mammals of Ireland