Mammals in Maine
 (Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Chordata, Class Mammalia)

a project of
Maine Natural History Observatory
reproduced here with the permission of the Observatory

(updated 16 December 2024)



The page below is part of the Maine Biota Project of the Maine Natural History Observatory and is reproduced here with the permission of the Observatory.

You are invited to send to info@vfthomas.com additions/corrections to the list of mammals as well as information for the tabular key at the bottom of this page that will help distinguish one order from another. Also, information is needed for pages that are linked to below. This page will be updated as your input is received. When this page has been substantially expanded/improved, it will replace the current page now on the website of the Maine Natural History Observatory. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.


Welcome to the Maine Mammal checklist.
Maine, including the adjacent ocean, is home to 60 species in 43 genera in 19 families in 7 orders of non-domesticated mammals.

Below is a working checklist of mammals that live in Maine or in the adjacent ocean. For more information about a particular species, click on the link under the heading “common name”, and you will be taken to a page for the order that includes that species. Otherwise, to determine which order the mammal that you are trying to identify belongs to, refer to the tabular key at the bottom of this page.

How to contribute to this page. Please e-mail corrections and updates to info@vfthomas.com or send them to the address at the top of this page. Photographs are encouraged. Thank you.

A little work by each of us will save a lot of work for all of us.
   Thank you to Ruth Gortner Grierson, Don Lenahan, Julia Schloss, Emma Walsh, Pam Walsh, and Ned Warton for their contributions to this page.

Order Family Genus Specific Epithet authority common name Sources (full citations given below this table)
Artiodactyla Cervidae Alces americanus (L.) moose
Artiodactyla Cervidae Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann) white-tailed deer
Carnivora Canidae Canis latrans Say coyote
Carnivora Canidae Urocyon cinereoargenteus (Schreber) gray fox Maine IF&W (3)
Carnivora Canidae Vulpes vulpes (L.) red fox Maine IF&W (3)
Carnivora Felidae Lynx canadensis Kerr Canada lynx Maine IF&W (4)
Carnivora Felidae Lynx rufus (Schreber) bobcat
Carnivora Mephitidae Mephitis mephitis (Schreber) striped skunk
Carnivora Mustelidae Lontra canadensis (Schreber) river otter
Carnivora Mustelidae Martes americana (Turton) American marten
Carnivora Mustelidae Martes pennanti (Erxleben) fisher
Carnivora Mustelidae Mustela erminea L. short-tailed weasel
Carnivora Mustelidae Mustela frenata Lichtenstein long-tailed weasel
Carnivora Mustelidae Neovison vison (Schreber) mink
Carnivora Phocidae Halichoerus grypus (Fabricius) gray seal
Carnivora Phocidae Phoca vitulina L. harbor seal
Carnivora Procyonidae Procyon lotor (L.) common raccoon
Carnivora Ursidae Ursus americanus Pallas black bear
Chiroptera Vespertilionidae Eptesicus fuscus (Beauvois) big brown bat Maine IF&W (1)
Chiroptera Vespertilionidae Lasionycteris noctivagans (LeConte) silver-haired bat Maine IF&W (1)
Chiroptera Vespertilionidae Lasiurus borealis (Müller) eastern red bat Maine IF&W (1)
Chiroptera Vespertilionidae Lasiurus cinereus (Beauvois) hoary bat Maine IF&W (1)
Chiroptera Vespertilionidae Myotis keenii (Merriam) northern myotis
Chiroptera Vespertilionidae Myotis leibii (Audubon and Bachman) eastern small-footed bat Maine IF&W (1)
Chiroptera Vespertilionidae Myotis lucifugus (LeConte) little brown bat Maine IF&W (1)
Chiroptera Vespertilionidae Myotis septentrionalis (Trouessart) northern long-eared bat Maine IF&W (1)
Chiroptera Vespertilionidae Myotis sodalis Miller and G. M. Allen Indiana myotis
Chiroptera Vespertilionidae Pipistrellus subflavus (F. Cuvier) tri-colored bat Maine IF&W (1)
Didelphimorphia Didelphidae Didelphis virginiana Kerr Virginia opossum Maine IF&W (2)
Eulipotyphia Soricidae Blarina brevicauda (Say) northern short-tailed shrew
Eulipotyphia Soricidae Sorex cinereus Kerr masked shrew
Eulipotyphia Soricidae Sorex dispar Batchelder rock shrew
Eulipotyphia Soricidae Sorex fumeus G. M. Miller smoky shrew
Eulipotyphia Soricidae Sorex hoyi Baird pygmy shrew
Eulipotyphia Soricidae Sorex palustris Richardson American water shrew
Eulipotyphia Talpidae Condylura cristata (L.) star-nosed mole
Eulipotyphia Talpidae Parascalops breweri (Bachman) hairy-tailed mole
Lagomorpha Leporidae Lepus americanus Erxleben snowshoe hare
Lagomorpha Leporidae Sylvilagus transitionalis (Bangs) New England cottontail
Rodentia Castoridae Castor canadensis Kuhl American beaver
Rodentia Cricetidae Microtus chrotorrhinus (Miller) rock vole
Rodentia Cricetidae Microtus pennsylvanicus (Ord) meadow vole
Rodentia Cricetidae Microtus pinetorum (Le Conte) pine vole
Rodentia Cricetidae Ondatra zibethicus (L.) common muskrat
Rodentia Dipodidae Napaeozapus insignis (Miller) woodland jumping mouse
Rodentia Dipodidae Zapus hudsonius (Zimmermann) meadow jumping mouse
Rodentia Erethizontidae Erethizon dorsatum (L.) common porcupine
Rodentia Muridae Clethrionomys gapperi (Vigors) southern red-backed vole
Rodentia Muridae Mus musculus L. house mouse
Rodentia Muridae Peromyscus leucopus (Rafinesque) white-footed mouse
Rodentia Muridae Peromyscus maniculatus (Wagner) American deer mouse
Rodentia Muridae Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout) Norway rat
Rodentia Muridae Synaptomys borealis Richardson northern bog lemming
Rodentia Muridae Synaptomys cooperi Baird southern bog lemming
Rodentia Sciuridae Glaucomys sabrinus (Shaw) northern flying squirrel
Rodentia Sciuridae Glaucomys volans (L.) southern flying squirrel
Rodentia Sciuridae Marmota monax (L.) woodchuck
Rodentia Sciuridae Sciurus carolinensis Gmelin eastern gray squirrel
Rodentia Sciuridae Tamias striatus (L.) eastern chipmunk
Rodentia Sciuridae Tamiasciurus hudsonicus (Erxleben) red squirrel

Sources:
   Maine IF&W (1) = Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife website https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/species-information/mammals/small.html (accessed 22 August 2020)
   Maine IF&W (2) = Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife website https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/living-with-wildlife/avoid-resolve-conflict/opossums.html#facts (accessed 23 August 2020)
   Maine IF&W (3) = Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife website https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/living-with-wildlife/avoid-resolve-conflict/foxes.html (accessed 23 August 2020)
   Maine IF&W (4) = Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife website https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/species-information/mammals/canada-lynx.html (accessed 23 August 2020)

Key to Maine’s orders of mammals
toes on front foot toes on hind foot char. 3 char. 4 char. 5 char. 6
Artiodactyla
(deer, moose)		 2 or 4 2 or 4
Carnivora
(carnivores)		 0 (seals),
4 (dogs, cats),
5 (remaining carnivores)		 0 (seals),
4 (dogs, cats),
5 (remaining carnivores)
Chiroptera
(bats)		 5 5
Didelphimorphia
(opossums)		 5 5
Eulipotiphya
(insectivores)
Lagomorpha
(hares, cottontails)		 0 (hair obscures toe pads),
4 (usually visible),
5		 0 (hair obscures toe pads),
4 (usually visible),
5
Rodentia
(rodents)		 4 5