This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Tokelau. There are five mammal species in the waters off Tokelau, all of which are of the order Cetacea.[1]
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: Odontoceti
- Family: Physeteridae
- Genus: Physeter
- Sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus VU[2]
- Genus: Physeter
- Superfamily: Platanistoidea
- Family: Ziphidae
- Subfamily: Hyperoodontinae
- Genus: Mesoplodon
- Blainville's beaked whale, Mesoplodon densirostris DD
- Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale, Mesoplodon ginkgodens DD
- Genus: Mesoplodon
- Subfamily: Hyperoodontinae
- Family: Delphinidae (marine dolphins)
- Genus: Stenella
- Spinner dolphin, Stenella longirostris LR/cd
- Genus: Feresa
- Pygmy killer whale, Feresa attenuata DD
- Genus: Stenella
- 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.
- ^ "Leaving the Whales of Kiribati". PBS. 12 February 2001. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
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.