This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Chile. As of January 2011, there are 152 mammal species listed for Chile, of which four are critically endangered, eight are endangered, eight are vulnerable, and eleven are near threatened.

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature; those on the left are used here, those in the second column are used in some other articles:

EXEXExtinctNo reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
EWEWExtinct in the wildKnown only to survive in captivity or as a naturalized population well outside its historic range.
CRCRCritically endangeredThe species is in imminent danger of extinction in the wild.
ENENEndangeredThe species is facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
VUVUVulnerableThe species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
NTNTNear threatenedThe species does not qualify as being at high risk of extinction but is likely to do so in the future.
LCLCLeast concernThe species is not currently at risk of extinction in the wild.
DDDDData deficientThere is inadequate information to assess the risk of extinction for this species.
NENENot evaluatedThe conservation status of the species has not been studied.

Subclass: Theria

Infraclass: Metatheria

Superorder: Ameridelphia

Order: Didelphimorphia (common opossums)

Elegant fat-tailed mouse opossum

Didelphimorphia is the order of common opossums of the Western Hemisphere. Opossums probably diverged from the basic South American marsupials in the late Cretaceous or early Paleocene. They are small to medium-sized marsupials, about the size of a large house cat, with a long snout and prehensile tail.

Order: Paucituberculata (shrew opossums)

There are six extant species of shrew opossum. They are small shrew-like marsupials confined to the Andes.

Superorder: Australidelphia

Order: Microbiotheria (monito del monte)

Monito del monte on bamboo

The monito del monte is the only extant member of its family and the only surviving member of an ancient order, Microbiotheria. It appears to be more closely related to Australian marsupials than to other Neotropic marsupials; this is a reflection of the South American origin of all Australasian marsupials.

Infraclass: Eutheria

Superorder: Xenarthra

Order: Cingulata (armadillos)

Andean hairy armadillo

Armadillos are small mammals with a bony armored shell. There are 21 extant species in the Americas, 19 of which are only found in South America, where they originated. Their much larger relatives, the pampatheres and glyptodonts, once lived in North and South America but became extinct following the appearance of humans.

Superorder: Euarchontoglires

Order: Rodentia (rodents)

Short-tailed chinchilla
Long-tailed chinchilla
Southern viscacha
Northern viscacha
Southern mountain cavy
Common degu
Coruro
Coypu

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).

Sanborn's grass mouse
Darwin's leaf-eared mouse
Bunny rat
Polynesian rat

Superorder: Laurasiatheria

Order: Chiroptera (bats)

Hoary bat
Little yellow-shouldered bat
Common vampire 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)

Geoffroy's cat
Kodkod
Andean mountain cat
Darwin's fox
Marine otter
South American sea lion

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

Order: Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates and cetaceans)

Vicuña
Southern pudú

The weight of even-toed ungulates 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 noncetacean artiodactyl species, including many that are of great economic importance to humans.

Infraorder: Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises)

Southern right whale
Blue whale
Pygmy sperm whale
Commerson's dolphin
Short-beaked common dolphin
Spinner dolphin
Hourglass dolphin
Dusky dolphin
Risso's dolphin
Orca
Long-finned pilot whale

The infraorder 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. Their closest extant relatives are the hippos, which are artiodactyls, from which cetaceans descended; cetaceans are thus also artiodactyls.

See also

Notes

External links