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List of mammals of Japan

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This is a list of mammal species recorded in Japan (excluding domesticated and captive populations). Of the 172 species of mammal found—112 native terrestrial mammals (those that are endemic are identified below; this number includes 37 species of bat), 19 introduced species, 40 species of Cetacea, and the dugong—161 are listed for the Japan region on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: of these, three taxa are critically endangered (Muennink's spiny rat, Yanbaru whiskered bat, and gloomy tube-nosed bat), twenty-two are endangered, eight are vulnerable, and eleven are near threatened; the Japanese sea lion and Bonin or Sturdee's pipistrelle are evaluated as extinct. Although on a global level the grey wolf is assessed as least concern, the two Japanese subspecies, Hokkaido wolf and Japanese wolf, are further recent extinctions; the 2020 Japanese Ministry of the Environment Red List also lists as extinct the Okinawa flying fox and Japanese river otter, as well as the subspecies Miyako little horseshoe bat [ja].

As of January 2023, for their protection, fifteen species and subspecies have been designated national endangered species by cabinet order in accordance with the 1992 Act on Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by 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) naturalized population(s) well outside its previous range.
CR Critically endangered The species is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
EN Endangered The species is facing a very 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 currently meet the criteria for CR, EN, or VU but is close or likely to do so in the near future.
LC Least concern The species has been evaluated and does not meet the qualifying criteria for CR, EN, VU, or NT.
DD Data deficient There is inadequate information to assess the risk of extinction of this species.

Order: Sirenia (manatees and dugongs)

Dugong

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

Japanese macaque, Taiwanese macaque, rhesus macaque

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

Order: Rodentia (rodents)

Coypu, grey red-backed vole, northern red-backed vole, muskrat, group (striped field mouse, black rat, harvest mouse, house mouse), Korean field mouse, large Japanese field mouse, small Japanese field mouse, Ryukyu long-tailed giant rat, brown rat, Polynesian rat, Hokkaido squirrel, Japanese squirrel, Japanese dwarf flying squirrel, Pallas's squirrel, Siberian flying squirrel, Ezo chipmunk, Japanese dormouse

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).

Order: Lagomorpha (hares, rabbits, and pikas)

Japanese hare, Ezo mountain hare, European rabbit, Amami rabbit, Japanese pika

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: Eulipotyphla (hedgehogs, shrews, and moles)

Amur hedgehog, Asian lesser white-toothed shrew, house shrew, Laxmann's shrew, long-clawed shrew, Japanese mountain mole, small Japanese mole, Japanese mole, Echigo mole, Sado mole, True's shrew mole, Japanese shrew mole

Eulipotyphlans are insectivorous mammals. Shrews and solenodons resemble mice, hedgehogs carry spines, gymnures look more like large rats, while moles are stout-bodied burrowers.

Order: Chiroptera (bats)

Ryukyu flying fox, little Japanese horseshoe bat, northern bat, Endo's pipistrelle, parti-coloured bat, Hodgson's bat, big-footed myotis, Hilgendorf's tube-nosed bat, Ussuri tube-nosed bat, eastern bent-wing 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: Carnivora (carnivorans)

Tsushima leopard cat, masked palm civet, small Indian mongoose, raccoon, Japanese red fox, Ezo red fox, Japanese raccoon dog, Ezo brown bear, Japanese black bear, Japanese badger, sea otter, Japanese marten, Japanese sable, Japanese stoat, Japanese weasel, Siberian weasel, least weasel, American mink, northern fur seal, Steller sea lion, †Japanese sea lion, bearded seal, ribbon seal, northern elephant seal, spotted seal, Kuril seal, ringed seal

There are over 260 species of carnivorans, the majority of which feed primarily on meat. They have a characteristic skull shape and dentition. Wolves and otters are now believed to be extinct in Japan.

Order: Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates)

Wild boar (Japanese boar, Ryūkyū boar), Reeves's muntjac, sika deer, Japanese serow, North Pacific right whale, common minke whale, sei whale, Bryde's whale, Omura's whale, blue whale, fin whale, humpback whale, grey whale, beluga whale, harbour porpoise, Dall's porpoise, sperm whale, pygmy sperm whale, dwarf sperm whale, Cuvier's beaked whale, Baird's beaked whale, Indo-Pacific beaked whale, Blainville's beaked whale, rough-toothed dolphin, Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, common bottlenose dolphin, pantropical spotted dolphin, striped dolphin, spinner dolphin, long-beaked common dolphin, short-beaked common dolphin, Fraser's dolphin, Pacific white-sided dolphin, northern right whale dolphin, Risso's dolphin, melon-headed whale, pygmy killer whale, false killer whale, orca, short-finned pilot whale

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 terrestrial artiodactyl species, including many that are of great economic importance to humans. Artiodactyla also includes the infraorder Cetacea, which includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Cetaceans 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.

See also

References

  1. Ohdachi, S. D.; et al., eds. (2015). The Wild Mammals of Japan (2 ed.). Shoukadoh and The Mammal Society of Japan. pp. vii, 404. ISBN 978-4879746917.
  2. 環境省レッドリスト2020 [Ministry of the Environment Red List 2020] (in Japanese). Japanese Ministry of the Environment. 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  3. レッドデータブック・レッドリスト [Red Data Books and Red Lists] (in Japanese). Ministry of the Environment. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  4. 国内希少野生動植物種一覧 [List of National Endangered Species] (in Japanese). Ministry of the Environment. January 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  5. Ohdachi, S. D.; et al., eds. (2015). The Wild Mammals of Japan (2 ed.). Shoukadoh and The Mammal Society of Japan. p. 300. ISBN 978-4879746917.
  6. ^ "Database of National Cultural Properties" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  7. ^ Ohdachi, S. D.; et al., eds. (2015). The Wild Mammals of Japan (2 ed.). Shoukadoh and The Mammal Society of Japan. pp. 134, 137, 139. ISBN 978-4879746917.
  8. 日本における後期更新世～前期完新世産のオオヤマネコLynxについて [On the Lynx from the late Pleistocene to early Holocene in Japan] (PDF). Bull.Gunma Mus.Natu.Hist (in Japanese) (15): 43–80. 2011.
  9. "River otter spotted on Tsushima probably not native species: researcher". The Japan Times. 2017-10-13. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  10. "Three otters likely living on Japan's Tsushima Island following first sighting in 38 years: Environment Ministry". The Japan Times. 2018-05-29. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  11. Ohdachi, S. D.; et al., eds. (2015). The Wild Mammals of Japan (2 ed.). Shoukadoh and The Mammal Society of Japan. p. 262. ISBN 978-4879746917.
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