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List of mammals of China

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of the mammal species recorded in China. There are 495 mammal species in China, of which thirteen are critically endangered, twenty-four are endangered, forty-seven are vulnerable, and seven are near threatened. One of the species listed for China can no longer be found in the wild.[1]

The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is the national animal of China

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

EXExtinctNo reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
EWExtinct in the wildKnown only to survive in captivity or as a naturalized populations well outside its previous range.
CRCritically endangeredThe species is in imminent risk of extinction in the wild.
ENEndangeredThe species is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
VUVulnerableThe species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
NTNear threatenedThe 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.
LCLeast concernThere are no current identifiable risks to the species.
DDData deficientThere is inadequate information to make an assessment of the risks to this species.

Some species were assessed using an earlier set of criteria. Species assessed using this system have the following instead of near threatened and least concern categories:

LR/cdLower risk/conservation dependentSpecies which were the focus of conservation programmes and may have moved into a higher risk category if that programme was discontinued.
LR/ntLower risk/near threatenedSpecies which are close to being classified as vulnerable but are not the subject of conservation programmes.
LR/lcLower risk/least concernSpecies for which there are no identifiable risks.

Order: Sirenia (manatees and dugongs)

Dugongs

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: Proboscidea (elephants)

Asian elephant

The elephants comprise three living species and are the largest living land animals.

Order: Scandentia (treeshrews)

The treeshrews are small mammals native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. Although called treeshrews, they are not true shrews and are not all arboreal.

Order: Primates

Tibetan macaque
Francois' langur
Golden snub-nosed monkey
Bengal slow loris
Rhesus macaque
Northern white-cheeked crested gibbon

The order Primates contains humans and their closest relatives: lemurs, lorisoids, monkeys, and apes.

Order: Rodentia (rodents)

Indian porcupine
Northern birch mouse
Bank vole
Mongolian gerbil
Striped field mouse
Brown rat

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 though the capybara can weigh up to 45 kg (99 lb).

Order: Lagomorpha (lagomorphs)

Northern pika
Mountain hare

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 (hedgehogs, gymnures, shrews, moles, and solenodons)

Long-eared hedgehog
Asian house shrew
White-tailed mole

Eulipotyphla comprises the hedgehogs and gymnures (family Erinaceidae, formerly also the order Erinaceomorpha), solenodons (family Solenodontidae), the desmans, moles, and shrew-like moles (family Talpidae) and true shrews (family Soricidae).

Order: Chiroptera (bats)

Daubenton's bat
Serotine bat
Lesser noctule

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: Pholidota (pangolins)

Sunda pangolin

The order Pholidota comprises the eight species of pangolin. Pangolins are anteaters and have the powerful claws, elongated snout and long tongue seen in the other unrelated anteater species.

Order: Cetacea (whales)

Chinese white dolphin in Hong Kong
Harbour porpoise
Pygmy sperm whale
Pantropical spotted dolphin

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)

Marbled cat
Leopard cat
Clouded leopard
Tiger
Indochinese leopard
Amur leopard
Dhole
Corsac fox
Asiatic black bear
Back-striped weasel
Beech marten
Bearded seal

Carnivorans include over 260 species, the majority of which primarily eat meat. They have a characteristic skull shape and dentition.

Order: Perissodactyla (odd-toed ungulates)

Mongolian wild ass
Kiang

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)

Siberian musk deer
Thorold's deer
Hairy-fronted muntjac
Saiga antelope
Gaur
Takin

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.

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