Forest & Wildlife Ecology 306 Mammals

Berkelman

Order Monotremata

egg-laying mammals with cloaca; no functional teeth on adults; epipubic bones present

includes echidnas and platypi

Family Tachyglossidae

echidnas/spiny anteaters

Family Ornithorhynchidae

duck-billed platypus

Order Notoryctemorphia

marsupial moles

Order Peramelemorphia

bandicoots and bilbies

Order Dasyuromorphia

marsupial carnivores (Tasmanian devil, spotted-tailed quoll, numbat, etc.)

Order Diprotodontia

Australian marsupials (kangaroos, possums, gliders, wombats, koalas, etc.)

Order Paucituberculata

shrew opossums

Order Microbiotheria

monito del monte

Order Didelphimorphia

American opossums

opposable hallux (big toe) on hind feet; prehensile tail

Didelphis virginiana

Virginia opossum

sharp sagittal crest, tiny brain case; opposable hallux

Placentalia (aka Eutheria)

placental mammals

19 orders, 6,350 species (~94% of living mammals)

Order Cingulata

armadillos

simple, peg-like teeth (homodont); most species fossorial

Dasypus mexicanus

Mexican long-nosed armadillo

body armor with 9 central bands

Order Eulipotyphla

shrews, moles, and hedgehogs

Family Soricidae

shrews

no zygomatic arches or auditory bullae on skull; small, long narrow snout, small eyes and ears

Sorex cinereus

masked shrew

total length = 3-4in; grayish-brown fur, long tail

Sorex hoyi

pygmy shrew

total length = 3.1-3.6in (smallest N. American mammal); unicuspid teeth

Sorex arcticus

arctic shrew

total length = 4-5in; tricolored fur pattern

Sorex palustris

water shrew

total length = 5.4-6.5in; large feet with fringe of stiff hairs for swimming

Blarina brevicauda

short-tailed shrew

total length = 4.3-5.5in; dark fur, large body, short tail; venemous saliva

Family Talpidae

moles and desmans

most moles fossorial, desmans semi-aquatic; skull flattened, zygomatic arch and auditory bullae present

Scalopus aquaticus

eastern mole

total length = 5.9-7.9in; gray-brown fur, plump body, short tail, large forelegs and claws

Condylura cristata

star-nosed mole

tentacles at tip of snout act as sensory organ

Metatheria

marsupials

Order Chiroptera

bats

~22% of all living mammal species

Family Vespertilionidae

“evening bats” or “plain-nosed bats”; largest bat family, includes all 8 WI bat species

prominent tragus, well-developed calcar, long tail enclosed by uropatagium, lack nose leaf, and nasal branches of premaxilla unfused

Myotis lucifugus

little brown bat

weight: 7-10g, relatively short ears and tragus, naked uropatagium; cave bat

Myotis septentrionalis

northern long-eared bat

weight: 5-8g, long ears and tragus; cave bat

Perimyotis subflavus

tricolored bat

weight: 4-7g, black-yellow-brown hairs; cave bat

Eptesicus fuscus

big brown bat

weight: 15-24g, dark brown fur, large; cave bat

Nycticeius humeralis

evening bat

weight: 6-12g, short tragus, single incisor; tree bat

Lasiurus borealis

eastern red bat

weight: 7-13g, reddish fur, furred uropatagium, sexually dimorphic (females are lighter); tree bat

Lasiurus cinereus

hoary bat

weight: 25-35g, gray fur tipped with white, furred uropatagium; tree bat

Lasionyteris noctivagans

silver-haired bat

weight: 8-12g, mostly unfurred uropatagium, dark, silver-tipped fur; tree bat

WI Cave Bats

overwinter in WI, hibernate ~6month/year, raise young in colony, usually single young

WI Tree Bats

migrate south in fall, may hibernate for short periods, solitary while raising young, bear 1-3 young

Lepus americanus

snowshoe hare

weight: 3-5lbs; brown fur, lacks rusty nape, turns white in winter

Sylvilagus floridanus

eastern cottontail

weight: 2-4lbs; buffy brown fur, white belly, rusty nape

Oryctolagus cuniculus

european rabbit

weight: 3-5.5lbs; grayish fur, rusty nape, black on top of tail, perforation on top and back of skull

Family Leporidae

rabbits and hares

Family Sciuridae

squirrels

long, well-furred tail, 4 digits on forefeet, 5 digits on hindfeet, prominent postorbital process, very small infraorbital canal

Marmota monax

woodchuck or groundhog

cat-sized with stout body, short legs, bushy tail, and rounded ears; diurnal, herbivorous, solitary; lives in burrows, hibernates

Ictidomys tridecemlineatus

thirteen-lined ground squirrel

thin tail, small ears; diurnal, omnivorous; lives in burrows, semi-colonial, hibernates

Poliocitellus franklinii

Franklin’s ground squirrel

brownish gray fur with flecking, small ears, moderately bushy tail; diurnal, omnivorous; lives in burrows, semi-colonial, hibernates

Tamias striatus

eastern chipmunk

stripes do not extend to tail, reddish rump, 4 upper cheek teeth, distensible cheek pouches; diurnal, solitary, territorial; omnivorous, caches food, hibernates but emerges in mild weather

Neotamias minimus

least chipmunk

small, stripes extend to base of tail, 5 upper cheek teeth; diurnal, solitary, territorial; omnivorous, caches food, hibernates

Tamiasciurus hudsonicus

red squirrel

red back and tail, gray sides, white belly, white eye ring, small; diurnal, territorial, extremely vocal; omnivorous, active all year

Sciurus carolinensis

eastern gray squirrel

mostly gray, white belly, white behind ears, white-tipped hairs on tail; diurnal, solitary, tree-dwelling; omnivorous, scatter hoarder, active all year

Sciurus niger

eastern fox squirrel

large, brown fur mixed with black, dull orange belly and tail; diurnal, tree-dwelling, omnivorous; scatter hoarder, active all year

Glaucomys volans

southern flying squirrel

patagium, large eyes, flattened tail, belly hairs all white; nocturnal, omnivorous, nests in tree cavities

Castor canadensis

American beaver

large body, naked flat tail, webbed hind feet; semi-aquatic, builds dams and lodges, eats bark, leaves, twigs; diurnal, active all year; monogamous

Geomys bursarius

Plains pocket gopher

cheek pouches, tiny eyes and ears, long claws on forefeet, short bare tail; highly fossorial, solitary, strictly herbivorous; active all year, day and night

Family Cricetidae

New World rats and mice, voles, and lemmings

generally nocturnal and active year-round; large litters, short lifespans

Subfamily Neotominae

New World rats and mice

long tails, large, scantily haired ears, distinct neck between head and body; 2 rows of cusps on cheek teeth (vs. 3 in Muridae)

Reithrodontomys megalotis

western harvest mouse

thinly haired tail slightly shorter than body, white feet; grooved upper incisors; sedentary, non-territorial, eats seeds and insects

Peromyscus maniculatus

deer mouse

subspecies: P.m. gracilis (northern WI forests), P.m. bairdii (southern WI prairies); eats seeds, insects, etc.; solitary in summer, social in winter

Peromyscus leucopus

white-footed mouse

deciduous forests, eats seeds, nuts, larvae, etc.; active climber, semi-arboreal

Subfamily Arvicolinae

voles and lemmings

short, fully furred tails, short ears mostly hidden by fur, no distinct neck; flat-topped zigzagging cheek teeth (vs. rounded with cusps in Neotominae and Muridae)

Synaptomys cooperi

southern bog lemming

brownish grizzled fur, tail roughly the same length as hind feet; outer edge of upper incisor grooved; eats grasses, rushes, sedges

Clethrionomys gapperi

southern red-backed vole

broad rusty stripe down the center back, tail ~33% of total length; shelf-like poster border of the palate; mostly herbivorous, some insetcs

Microtus ochrogaster

prairie vole

tannish belly, grizzled fur on back; 4 loops on second molar (M²); mostly herbivorous, monogamous

Microtus pennsylvanicus

meadow vole

silvery gray belly, ungrizzled back; 5 loops on second molar; eats mostly grasses and sedges

Microtus pinetorum

woodland vole

reddish fur, short tail; eats roots, tubers, rhizomes, etc.; semi-fossorial, monogamous

Ondatra zibethicus

muskrat

large with naked, laterally flat tail; eats aquatic vegetation and animal prey; active day or night, year-round; burrows into banks or builds lodges