This list of mammals of India comprises all the mammal species alive in India today. Some of them are common to the point of being considered vermin while others are exceedingly rare. Many species are known from just a few zoological specimens in museums collected in the 19th and 20th centuries. Many of the carnivores and larger mammals are restricted in their distribution to forests in protected areas, while others live within cities in the close proximity of humans. They range in size from the Eurasian pygmy shrew (Sorex minutus) to the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). They include nocturnal small mammals endemic to India such as the Malabar large-spotted civet (Viverra civettina). While the status of many of these species is unknown, some are definitely extinct. Populations of many carnivores are threatened. The tiger (Panthera tigris), dhole (Cuon alpinus), and Malabar large-spotted civet (Viverra civettina) are some of the most endangered carnivore species. Two rhinoceros species are extinct within the Indian region, but the remaining species, the Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) has its last stronghold within India.
Order: Eulipotyphla
Family Erinaceidae: hedgehogs
Family Talpidae: moles
Family Soricidae: shrews
Soricinae
Crocidurinae
Order: Scandentia
Tupaiinae
Order: Chiroptera: bats
Family Pteropodidae: fruit bats
Family Rhinopomatidae: mouse-tailed bats
Family Emballonuridae: sheath-tailed bats
Family Megadermatidae: false vampire bats
Family Rhinolophidae: horseshoe bats
Family Hipposideridae: leaf-nosed bats
Family Vespertilionidae: evening bats
Family Molossidae: free-tailed bats
Order: Primates
Family Lorisidae: lorises
Family Cercopithecidae: Old World monkeys
Family Hylobatidae: lesser apes (gibbons)
Earlier classified as a single species, the hoolock gibbon (Hylobates hoolock) has been reclassified as follows:
Order: Carnivora: Carnivorans
Family Canidae: canines/dogs
Family Felidae: cats
Family Viverridae: civets and palm civets
Family Prionodontidae: Asiatic linsangs
Family Ursidae: bears
Family Ailuridae: red pandas
Family Mustelidae: mustelids
Family Herpestidae: mongooses
Family Hyaenidae: hyenas
Order: Cetacea: whales, dolphins, and porpoises
Family Delphinidae
Family Platanistidae: river dolphins
Family Balaenopteridae
Family Balaenidae
Family Ziphiidae
Family Phocoenidae
Family Kogiidae
Family Physeteridae
Order: Sirenia
Family Dugongidae
Order: Proboscidea
Family Elephantidae: elephants
Order: Perissodactyla: odd-toed ungulates
Family Equidae: horses
Family Rhinocerotidae: rhinoceroses
Order: Artiodactyla: even-toed ungulates
Family Suidae: pigs
Family Tragulidae: chevrotains
Family Moschidae
Family Cervidae: deer
Family Bovidae: bovids
Order: Pholidota: pangolins
Family Manidae: pangolins
Order: Rodentia
Family Sciuridae: squirrels
Family Muridae: Old World rats, mice
Family Hystricidae: Old World porcupines
Order: Lagomorpha: hares, rabbits, pikas
Family Leporidae: hares and rabbits
Family Ochotonidae: pikas
See also
References
Other references
- Corbet, G. B. & Hill, J. E. (1992). The Mammals of the Indomalayan Region: A Systematic Review. Oxford University Press.
- Ellerman, J. R. & Morrison-Scott, T. C. S. (1951). Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian Mammals 1758 to 1946. Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History), London
- Prater, S. H. (1971). The Book of Indian Animals. Oxford University Press. (Third edition 1997)
- Nameer, P. O. (2000). "Checklist of Indian Mammals". Kerala Forest Department and Kerala Agricultural University. 90+xxv pp.
External links