List of mammals of Great Britain

This is a list of mammals of Great Britain. The diversity of mammal fauna of Great Britain is somewhat impoverished compared to that of Continental Europe, due to the short period of time between the last ice age and the flooding of the land bridge between Great Britain and the rest of Europe. Only those land species which crossed before the creation of the English Channel and those introduced by humans exist in Great Britain.

Native (usually synonymous with "indigenous") species are considered to be species which are today present in the region in question, and have been continuously present in that region since a certain period of time. When applied to Great Britain, three possible definitions of this time constraint are:

a species that colonised the islands during the glacial retreat at the end of the last ice age (c. 9500 years ago);
a species that was present when the English Channel was created (c. 8000 years ago); or,
a species that was present in prehistory.

This list includes mammals from the small islands around Great Britain and the Channel Islands. There are no endemic mammal species in Great Britain, although four distinct subspecies of rodents have arisen on small islands.

The following tags are used to highlight the conservation status of each species' British population, as assessed by Natural England and The Mammal Society in a Regional Red List, following the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

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 naturalised population 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 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.

Diprotodonts

Order: Diprotodontia

Although marsupials are primarily found in the Australian region, the red-necked wallaby has been introduced to parts of Great Britain. Feral populations breed on the island of Inchconnachan on Loch Lomond in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, and on the Isle of Man. Other colonies have existed in Devon, the Peak District, and the Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, and although these are now believed to be locally extinct, occasional sightings continue.

Family: Macropodidae (kangaroos, wallabies, and kin)

Red-necked wallaby, Notamacropus rufogriseus LC introduced

Rodents

Order: Rodentia

Rodents are the largest order of mammals, comprising 40% of all species. They are characterised by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws and are native to almost all major landmasses on Earth.

Family: Castoridae (beavers)

Eurasian beaver, Castor fiber LC globally, EN in Great Britain, reintroduced

Family: Cricetidae (hamsters, voles, and kin)

European water vole, Arvicola amphibius LC globally, EN in Great Britain
Short-tailed field vole, Microtus agrestis LC
Common vole, Microtus arvalis LC
- Orkney vole, M. a. orcadensis VU
Bank vole, Myodes glareolus LC

Family: Muridae (mice, rats, and kin)

Yellow-necked mouse, Apodemus flavicollis LC
Wood mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus LC
- St Kilda field mouse, A. s. hirtensis
Eurasian harvest mouse, Micromys minutus LC
House mouse, Mus musculus LC
- St Kilda house mouse, M. m. muralis EX c. 1930
Brown rat, Rattus norvegicus LC introduced
Black rat, Rattus rattus LC introduced

Family: Gliridae (dormice)

European edible dormouse, Glis glis LC introduced
Hazel dormouse, Muscardinus avellanarius LC globally, VU in Great Britain

Family: Sciuridae (squirrels)

Eastern grey squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis LC introduced
Red squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris LC globally, EN in Great Britain

Lagomorphs

Order: Lagomorpha

The lagomorphs comprise two families, Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and Ochotonidae (pikas). Although 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.

Family: Leporidae (rabbits and hares)

European hare, Lepus europaeus LC introduced
Mountain hare, Lepus timidus LC
European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus EN introduced

Eulipotyphlans

Order: Eulipotyphla

The order Eulipotyphla contains insectivorous mammals. Hedgehogs are easily recognised by their spines, while gymnures look more like large rats. Shrews and solenodons closely resemble mice, while moles are stout-bodied burrowers.

Family: Talpidae (moles)

European mole, Talpa europaea LC

Family: Soricidae (shrews)

Lesser white-toothed shrew, Crocidura suaveolens LC
Eurasian water shrew, Neomys fodiens LC
Common shrew, Sorex araneus LC
Eurasian pygmy shrew, Sorex minutus LC

Family: Erinaceidae (hedgehogs and moonrats)

European hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus LC globally, VU in Great Britain

Bats

Order: Chiroptera

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: Rhinolophidae (horseshoe bats)

Lesser horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus hipposideros LC
Greater horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum LC

Family: Vespertilionidae (common bats, vesper bats, and kin)

Western barbastelle, Barbastella barbastellus NT globally, VU in Great Britain
Serotine bat, Eptesicus serotinus LC globally, VU in Great Britain
Bechstein's bat, Myotis bechsteini NT
Brandt's bat, Myotis brandti LC
Daubenton's bat, Myotis daubentoni LC
Greater mouse-eared bat, Myotis myotis LC globally, CR or possibly extirpated in Great Britain
Whiskered bat, Myotis mystacinus LC
Natterer's bat, Myotis nattereri LC
Lesser noctule, Nyctalus leisleri LC
Common noctule, Nyctalus noctula LC
Nathusius pipistrelle, Pipistrellus nathusii LC
Common pipistrelle, Pipistrellus pipistrellus LC
Soprano pipistrelle, Pipistrellus pygmaeus LC
Brown long-eared bat, Plecotus auritus LC
Grey long-eared bat, Plecotus austriacus NT globally, EN in Great Britain
Parti-coloured bat, Vespertilio murinus LC

Carnivorans

Order: Carnivora

There are over 260 species of carnivorans, the majority of which feed primarily on meat. They have a characteristic skull shape and dentition.

Family: Canidae (dogs)

Red fox, Vulpes vulpes LC

Family: Mustelidae (weasels, badgers, and kin)

Eurasian otter, Lutra lutra NT
European pine marten, Martes martes LC
European badger, Meles meles LC
Stoat, Mustela erminea LC,
Least weasel, Mustela nivalis LC
European polecat, Mustela putorius LC
American mink, Neogale vison LC introduced

Family: Felidae (cats)

European wildcat, Felis silvestris LC globally, CR in Great Britain
- Scottish wildcat, F. s. silvestris

Family: Phocidae (earless seals)

Grey seal, Halichoerus grypus LC
Harbour seal, Phoca vitulina LC

Even-toed ungulates

Order: Artiodactyla

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. Cetaceans are also considered to be even-toed ungulates for phylogenetic reasons.

Family: Suidae (pigs)

Wild boar, Sus scrofa LC reintroduced

Family: Cervidae (deer)

Roe deer, Capreolus capreolus LC
Siberian roe deer, Capreolus pygargus LC, introduced, extirpated
Red deer, Cervus elaphus LC
- Scottish red deer, C. e. scoticus
Sika deer, Cervus nippon LC introduced
European fallow deer, Dama dama LC introduced
Water deer, Hydropotes inermis VU introduced
Reeves's muntjac, Muntiacus reevesi LC introduced

Family: Bovidae (cattle, bison, and kin)

European bison, Bison bonasus NT reintroduced

Whales and dolphins

Order: Cetacea

The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. They are the mammals most fully adapted to aquatic life: they have a spindle-shaped, nearly hairless body, protected by a thick layer of blubber, and forelimbs and tail modified to provide propulsion underwater.

Family: Balaenidae (right whales and bowhead whales)

North Atlantic right whale, Eubalaena glacialis CR globally, possibly extant in Great Britain

Family: Balaenopteridae (rorquals)

Common minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata LC
Sei whale, Balaenoptera borealis EN
Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus EN
Fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus VU
Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae LC

Family: Phocoenidae (porpoises)

Harbour porpoise, Phocoena phocoena LC globally, VU in Europe

Family: Physeteridae (sperm whales)

Sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus VU

Family: Kogiidae (pygmy and dwarf sperm whales)

Pygmy sperm whale, K. breviceps LC

Family: Ziphiidae (beaked whales)

Cuvier's beaked whale, Ziphius cavirostris LC
Northern bottlenose whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus NT
Sowerby's beaked whale, Mesoplodon bidens LC
Gervais' beaked whale, Mesoplodon europaeus LC
True's beaked whale, Mesoplodon mirus LC

Family: Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins)

White-beaked dolphin, Lagenorhynchus albirostris LC
Atlantic white-sided dolphin, Lagenorhynchus acutus LC
False killer whale, Pseudorca crassidens NT
Common dolphin, Delphinus delphis LC
Common bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus LC
Striped dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba LC
Risso's dolphin, Grampus griseus LC
Orca, Orcinus orca DD

Locally extinct

Eurasian elk, Alces alces
Grey wolf, Canis lupus
Wolverine, Gulo gulo
Eurasian lynx, Lynx lynx
Reindeer, Rangifer tarandus
Brown bear, Ursus arctos