Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

List of mammals of Kenya

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Remove ads

This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Kenya. Of these species, four are critically endangered, nine are endangered, eighteen are vulnerable, and fifteen are near threatened.[1]

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.
Remove ads

Order: Afrosoricida (tenrecs and golden moles)

The order Afrosoricida contains the golden moles of southern Africa and the tenrecs of Madagascar and Africa, two families of small mammals that were traditionally part of the order Insectivora.

Remove ads

Order: Macroscelidea (elephant-shrews)

Thumb
Golden-rumped elephant shrew

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.

Remove ads

Order: Tubulidentata (aardvarks)

Thumb
Aardvark

The order Tubulidentata consists of a single species, the aardvark. Tubulidentata are characterised by their teeth which lack a pulp cavity and form thin tubes which are continuously worn down and replaced.

Order: Hyracoidea (hyraxes)

The hyraxes are any of four species of fairly small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. About the size of a domestic cat they are well-furred, with rounded bodies and a stumpy tail. They are native to Africa and the Middle East.

Remove ads

Order: Proboscidea (elephants)

Thumb
African bush elephant

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

Order: Sirenia (manatees and dugongs)

Thumb
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: Primates

Summarize
Perspective
Thumb
Senegal bushbaby
Thumb
Brown greater galago
Thumb
Blue monkey
Thumb
Mantled guereza

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

Remove ads

Order: Rodentia (rodents)

Summarize
Perspective
Thumb
Typical striped grass mouse

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).

Remove ads

Order: Lagomorpha (lagomorphs)

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: 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)

Summarize
Perspective

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

Remove ads

Order: Chiroptera (bats)

Summarize
Perspective
Thumb
Egyptian fruit bat

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)

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)

Summarize
Perspective
Thumb
Blue whale
Thumb
Rough-toothed dolphin
Thumb
Spinner dolphins

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)

Summarize
Perspective
Thumb
Lion in Samburu National Reserve
Thumb
Common genet
Thumb
Common dwarf mongoose
Thumb
Banded mongoose
Thumb
Bat-eared fox

There are over 260 species of carnivorans, the majority of which eat meat as their primary dietary item. They have a characteristic skull shape and dentition.

Order: Perissodactyla (odd-toed ungulates)

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)

Summarize
Perspective
Thumb
Masai giraffe
Thumb
Hirola
Thumb
Thomson's gazelle
Thumb
Oribi
Thumb
African buffalo
Thumb
Greater kudu
Thumb
Yellow-backed duiker
Thumb
Waterbuck

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.

See also

References

External links

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads
Remove ads