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List of mammals of Tunisia

This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Tunisia. Of the mammal species in Tunisia, three are critically endangered, three are endangered, nine are vulnerable, and two are near threatened. One of the species listed for Tunisia can no longer be found in the wild.

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

Order: Macroscelidea (elephant shrews)

Often called sengis, the elephant shrews or jumping shrews are native to southern Africa. Their common English name derives from their elongated flexible snout and their resemblance to the true shrews.

Order: Rodentia (rats and mice)

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 .

Order: Lagomorpha

Order: Erinaceomorpha (hedgehogs and gymnures)

The order Erinaceomorpha contains a single family, Erinaceidae, which comprise the hedgehogs and gymnures. The hedgehogs are easily recognised by their spines while gymnures look more like large rats.

Order: Soricomorpha (shrews, moles, and solenodons)

The "shrew-forms" are insectivorous mammals. The shrews and solenodons closely resemble mice while the moles are stout-bodied burrowers.

Order: Chiroptera (bats)

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: Cetacea (whales)

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)

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

Order: Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates)

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.

Extinct

The following species are locally extinct in the country:

  • Addax, Addax nasomaculatus. Though the last animal disappeared in 1932, it has been successfully reintroduced since 2007 from specimens from Niger and others kept in zoos. It was able to reproduce in the wild and even able to multiply outside of the fenced enclosure of the large national park where it had been reintroduced.
  • Hartebeest, Alcelaphus buselaphus
  • Aurochs, Bos primigenius
  • Atlas wild ass, Equus africanus atlanticus (c. 300 AD)
  • North African elephant, Loxodonta africana pharaohensis
  • Barbary macaque, Macaca sylvanus
  • Dama gazelle, Nanger dama
  • Barbary lion, Panthera leo
  • Leopard, Panthera pardus
  • Brown bear, Ursus arctos

See also

References

External links