List of mammals in the Seychelles
Encyclopedia
This is a list of the mammal species recorded in the Seychelles. There are 21 mammal species in the Seychelles
, of which 2 are critically endangered, 0 are endangered, 2 are vulnerable, and 0 are near-threatened.
The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the IUCN
:
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:
Order: Sirenia
-----
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.
The bats' most distinguishing feature is that their forelimbs are developed as wings, making them the only mammals in the world naturally capable of flight. Bat species account for about 20% of all mammals.
Order: Cetacea
-----
The order Cetacea includes whale
s, dolphin
s and porpoise
s. 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.
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
, of which 2 are critically endangered, 0 are endangered, 2 are vulnerable, and 0 are near-threatened.
The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the IUCN
World Conservation Union
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources is an international organization dedicated to finding "pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges." The organization publishes the IUCN Red List, compiling information from a network of...
:
| EX | Extinct | No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died. |
| EW | Extinct in the wild | Known only to survive in captivity or as a naturalized populations well outside its previous range. |
| CR | Critically Endangered | The species is in imminent risk of extinction in the wild. |
| EN | Endangered | The species is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. |
| VU | Vulnerable | The species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild. |
| NT | Near Threatened | The 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. |
| LC | Least Concern | There are no current identifiable risks to the species. |
| DD | Data Deficient | There 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/cd | Lower Risk/conservation dependent | Species which were the focus of conservation programmes and may have moved into a higher risk category if that programme was discontinued. |
| LR/nt | Lower Risk/near threatened | Species which are close to being classified as Vulnerable but are not the subject of conservation programmes. |
| LR/lc | Lower Risk/least concern | Species for which there are no identifiable risks. |
Order: SireniaSireniaSirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit swamps, rivers, estuaries, marine wetlands, and coastal marine waters. Four species are living, in two families and genera. These are the dugong and manatees...
(manatees and dugongs)
------ Family: DugongidaeDugongidaeDugongidae is a family in the order of Sirenia.The family has one surviving species, the Dugong , one recently extinct species, the Steller's Sea Cow , and a number of extinct genera known from the fossil record....
-
- Genus: DugongDugongThe dugong is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow , was hunted to extinction in the 18th century...
- DugongDugongThe dugong is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow , was hunted to extinction in the 18th century...
Dugong dugon VU
- Dugong
- Genus: Dugong
-
Order: Chiroptera (bats)
-----The bats' most distinguishing feature is that their forelimbs are developed as wings, making them the only mammals in the world naturally capable of flight. Bat species account for about 20% of all mammals.
- Family: Pteropodidae (flying foxes, Old World fruit bats)
- Subfamily: PteropodinaePteropodinaePteropodinae is a subfamily of megabats. Species within this subfamily are:Subfamily Pteropodinae* Genus Acerodon**Sulawesi Flying Fox, Acerodon celebensis**Talaud Flying Fox, Acerodon humilis...
- Genus: PteropusPteropusBats of the genus Pteropus, belonging to the megabat or Megachiroptera sub-order, are the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as the fruit bats or flying foxes among other colloquial names...
- Aldabra Flying FoxAldabra Flying FoxThe Aldabra Flying Fox or Aldabra Flying-fox is a species of megabat in the Pteropodidae family. It is endemic to Seychelles. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical mangrove forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.-Source:* Mickleburgh, S., Hutson, A., Bergmans, W. & Howell,...
Pteropus aldabrensis CR - Pteropus seychellensis LC
- Aldabra Flying Fox
- Genus: Pteropus
- Subfamily: Pteropodinae
- Family: Molossidae
- Genus: ChaerephonChaerephonChaerephon , of the Athenian deme Sphettus, was a loyal friend and follower of Socrates. He is known only through brief descriptions by classical writers and was "an unusual man by all accounts", though a man of loyal democratic values.-Life:...
- Little Free-tailed BatLittle Free-tailed BatThe Little Free-tailed Bat is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,...
Chaerephon pumila LC
- Little Free-tailed Bat
- Genus: Chaerephon
- Family: Emballonuridae
- Genus: ColeuraColeuraColeura is a genus of sac-winged bat in the family Emballonuridae.It contains the following species:* African Sheath-tailed Bat * Seychelles Sheath-tailed Bat...
- Seychelles sheath-tailed batSeychelles Sheath-tailed BatThe Seychelles sheath-tailed bat is a sac-winged bat. It occurs in the central granitic islands of the Seychelles Islands north of Madagascar...
Coleura seychellensis CR
- Seychelles sheath-tailed bat
- Genus: TaphozousTaphozousTaphozous is a genus of sac-winged bat in the family Emballonuridae.It contains the following species:* Indonesian Tomb Bat * Coastal Tomb Bat * Sharp-Nosed Tomb Bat...
- Mauritian Tomb BatMauritian Tomb BatThe Mauritian Tomb Bat is a species of sac-winged bat in the family Emballonuridae that is found in central and southern Africa and Madagascar. It was discovered in 1818 by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, and is characterized by an all-white ventral surface, grizzled dorsal coloration, and conical...
Taphozous mauritianus LC
- Mauritian Tomb Bat
- Genus: Coleura
- Family: Rhinolophidae
- Subfamily: HipposiderinaeHipposiderinaeHipposideridae is a family of bats commonly known as the "Old World Leaf-nosed Bats". While it has often been seen as a subfamily, Hipposiderinae, of the family Rhinolophidae, it is now more generally classified as its own family...
- Genus: TriaenopsTriaenopsTriaenops is a genus of bat in the family Hipposideridae. It is classified in the tribe Triaenopini, along with the closely related genus Paratriaenops and perhaps the poorly known Cloeotis. The species of Paratriaenops, which occur on Madagascar and the Seychelles, were placed in Triaenops until...
- Trouessart's Triden Bat Triaenops furculus VU
- Genus: Triaenops
- Subfamily: Hipposiderinae
Order: CetaceaCetaceaThe order Cetacea includes the marine mammals commonly known as whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Cetus is Latin and is used in biological names to mean "whale"; its original meaning, "large sea animal", was more general. It comes from Ancient Greek , meaning "whale" or "any huge fish or sea...
(whales)
-----Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
s, dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
s and porpoise
Porpoise
Porpoises are small cetaceans of the family Phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. They are distinct from dolphins, although the word "porpoise" has been used to refer to any small dolphin, especially by sailors and fishermen...
s. They are the mammals most fully adapted to aquatic
Aquatic adaptation
Several animal groups have undergone aquatic adaptation, going from being purely terrestrial animals to living at least part of the time in water. The adaptations in early speciation tend to develop as the animal ventures into water in order to find available food. As successive generations spend...
life with a spindle-shaped nearly hairless body, protected by a thick layer of blubber, and forelimbs and tail modified to provide propulsion underwater.
- Suborder: Mysticeti
- Family: Balaenopteridae
- Subfamily: Balaenopterinae
- Genus: BalaenopteraBalaenopteraBalaenoptera is a genus of Balaenopteridae, the Rorqual whales, and contains eight species. The species Balaenoptera omurai was published in 2003...
- Bryde's WhaleBryde's WhaleBryde's whales are baleen whales, one of the "great whales" or rorquals. They prefer tropical and temperate waters over the polar seas that other whales in their family frequent. They are largely coastal rather than pelagic. Bryde's whales are very similar in appearance to sei whales and almost as...
Balaenoptera edeni DD
- Bryde's Whale
- Genus: Balaenoptera
- Subfamily: Balaenopterinae
- Family: Balaenopteridae
- Suborder: Odontoceti
- Superfamily: Platanistoidea
- Family: Kogiidae
- Genus: Kogia
- Pygmy Sperm WhalePygmy Sperm WhaleThe Pygmy Sperm Whale is one of three species of toothed whale in the sperm whale family. They are not often sighted at sea, and most of what is known about them comes from the examination of stranded specimens.-Taxonomy:...
Kogia breviceps LR/lc - Dwarf Sperm WhaleDwarf Sperm WhaleThe Dwarf Sperm Whale is one of three species in the sperm whale family. They are not often sighted at sea. As such, most information is a result of the study of stranded carcasses.-Taxonomy:...
Kogia sima LR/lc
- Pygmy Sperm Whale
- Genus: Kogia
- Family: Ziphidae
- Genus: Ziphius
- Cuvier's Beaked WhaleCuvier's Beaked WhaleCuvier's beaked whale is the most widely distributed of all the beaked whales. It is the only member of the genus Ziphius. Another common name for the species is goose-beaked whale because its head is said to be shaped like the beak of a goose. Georges Cuvier first described it in 1823 from part...
Ziphius cavirostris DD
- Cuvier's Beaked Whale
- Subfamily: Hyperoodontidae
- Genus: Mesoplodon
- Blainville's Beaked WhaleBlainville's Beaked WhaleBlainville's beaked whale , or the dense-beaked whale, is the widest ranging mesoplodont whale and perhaps the most documented. Henri de Blainville first described the species in 1817 from a small piece of jaw—the heaviest bone he had ever come across—which resulted in the name densirostris...
Mesoplodon densirostris DD - Gray's Beaked WhaleGray's Beaked WhaleGray's beaked whale , sometimes known as Haast's beaked whale, the Scamperdown whale, or the southern beaked whale, is one of the better-known members of the genus Mesoplodon. The scientific name refers to John Edward Gray, a zoologist at the British Museum. This species is fairly gregarious and...
Mesoplodon grayi DD
- Blainville's Beaked Whale
- Genus: Mesoplodon
- Genus: Ziphius
- Family: Delphinidae (marine dolphins)
- Genus: Tursiops
- Bottlenose DolphinBottlenose DolphinBottlenose dolphins, the genus Tursiops, are the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Recent molecular studies show the genus contains two species, the common bottlenose dolphin and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin , instead of one...
Tursiops truncatus DD
- Bottlenose Dolphin
- Genus: StenellaStenellaStenella is a genus of aquatic mammals in Delphinidae, the family informally known as the oceanic dolphins.Currently five species are recognised in this genus:*Pantropical Spotted Dolphin, S. attenuata*Atlantic Spotted Dolphin, S. frontalis...
- Pantropical Spotted DolphinPantropical Spotted DolphinThe Pantropical Spotted Dolphin is a species of dolphin found in all the world's temperate and tropical oceans. The species was beginning to come under threat due to the killing of millions of individuals in tuna purse seines...
Stenella attenuata LR/cd - Striped DolphinStriped DolphinThe Striped Dolphin is an extensively studied dolphin that is found in temperate and tropical waters of all the world's oceans.-Taxonomy:...
Stenella coeruleoalba LR/cd - Spinner DolphinSpinner DolphinThe Spinner Dolphin is a small dolphin found in off-shore tropical waters around the world. It is famous for its acrobatic displays in which they spin longitudinally along their axis as they leap through the air.-Taxonomy:...
Stenella longirostris LR/cd
- Pantropical Spotted Dolphin
- Genus: Grampus
- Risso's DolphinRisso's DolphinRisso's dolphin is the only species of dolphin in the genus Grampus.-Taxonomy:Risso's dolphin is named after Antoine Risso, whose description formed the basis of the first public description of the animal, by Georges Cuvier, in 1812...
Grampus griseus DD
- Risso's Dolphin
- Genus: Peponocephala
- Melon-headed WhaleMelon-headed WhaleThe melon-headed whale is a cetacean of the oceanic dolphin family . It is closely related to the pygmy killer whale and pilot whale, and collectively these dolphin species are known by the common name blackfish. It is also related to the false killer whale...
Peponocephala electra LR/lc
- Melon-headed Whale
- Genus: Orcinus
- OrcaOrcaThe killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
Orcinus orca LR/cd
- Orca
- Genus: Globicephala
- Pilot whalePilot whalePilot whales are cetaceans belonging to the genus Globicephala. There are two extant species, the long-finned pilot whale and the short-finned pilot whale . The two are not readily distinguished at sea and analysis of the skulls is the best way to tell the difference between them...
Globicephala macrorhynchus LR/cd
- Pilot whale
- Genus: Tursiops
- Family: Kogiidae
- Superfamily: Platanistoidea
See also
- List of chordate orders
- List of regional mammals lists
- List of prehistoric mammals
- Mammal classificationMammal classificationMammalia is a class of animal within the Phylum Chordata. Mammal classification has been through several iterations since Carolus Linnaeus initially defined the class. Many earlier ideas have been completely abandoned by modern taxonomists, among these are the idea that bats are related to birds...
- New mammal species