This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Niue. There are ten mammal species in Niue, none of which are known to be at risk.[1]
The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature:
| 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: Chiroptera (bats)
editThe 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.
- Family: Pteropodidae (flying foxes, Old World fruit bats)
- Subfamily: Pteropodinae
- Genus: Pteropus
- Insular flying-fox, P. tonganus LC
- Genus: Pteropus
- Subfamily: Pteropodinae
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.
- Suborder: Mysticeti
- Family: Balaenopteridae
- Subfamily: Megapterinae
- Genus: Megaptera
- Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae VU[2]
- Genus: Megaptera
- Subfamily: Balaenopterinae
- Genus: Balaenoptera
- Minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata LR/nt
- Genus: Balaenoptera
- Subfamily: Megapterinae
- Family: Balaenopteridae
- Suborder: Odontoceti
- Family: Physeteridae
- Genus: Physeter
- Sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus VU
- Genus: Physeter
- Superfamily: Platanistoidea
- Family: Ziphidae
- Subfamily: Hyperoodontinae
- Genus: Mesoplodon
- Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale, Mesoplodon ginkgodens DD
- Genus: Mesoplodon
- Subfamily: Hyperoodontinae
- Family: Delphinidae (marine dolphins)
- Genus: Lagenodelphis
- Fraser's dolphin, Lagenodelphis hosei DD
- Genus: Stenella
- Spinner dolphin, Stenella longirostris LR/cd
- Genus: Globicephala
- Short-finned pilot whale, Globicephala macrorhynchus LR/cd
- Genus: Feresa
- Pygmy killer whale, Feresa attenuata DD
- Genus: Orcinus
- Orca, Orcinus orca LR/cd
- Genus: Lagenodelphis
- Family: Ziphidae
- Family: Physeteridae
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ This list is derived from the IUCN Red List which lists species of mammals and includes those mammals that have recently been classified as extinct (since 1500 AD). The taxonomy and naming of the individual species is based on those used in existing Wikipedia articles as of 21 May 2007 and supplemented by the common names and taxonomy from the IUCN, Smithsonian Institution, or University of Michigan where no Wikipedia article was available.
- ^ "Current State of Knowledge of Cetacean Threats, Diversity, and Habitats in the Pacific Islands Region" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
References
edit- "Mammal Species of the World". Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. 2005. Archived from the original on 27 April 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2007.
- "Animal Diversity Web". University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. 1995–2006. Retrieved 22 May 2007.