Mammals Encyclopedia

Skunk — Skunks are mammals, usually with black-and-white fur, that are best known for their ability to excrete a strong, foul-smelling odor. They belong to the family Mephitidae and to the order Carnivora. There are 11 species of skunks, which are divided into four genera: Mephitis (hooded and striped skunks, two species), Spilogale (spotted skunks, two species), Mydaus (stink badgers, …

Siamang — The Siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus) is a tailless, arboreal, black furred gibbon native to the forests of Malaysia, Thailand, and Sumatra. The largest of the lesser apes, the siamang can be twice the size of other gibbons, reaching 1 m in height, and weighing up to 23 kg. The Siamang is the only species in the genus Symphalangus. The …

Shrew — Shrews are small, superficially mouse-like mammals of the family Soricidae. Although their external appearance is generally that of a long-nosed mouse, the shrews are not rodents and not closely related: the shrew family is part of the order Soricomorpha. Shrews have feet with five clawed toes, unlike rodents, which have four. Shrews are also not to be confused …

Sewellel — The Mountain Beaver (Aplodontia rufa) is a primitive rodent unrelated to beavers and not usually found in mountainous areas. It has several common names including Aplodontia, Boomer, Ground Bear, and Giant Mole. The name Sewellel Beaver comes from sewellel or suwellel, the Chinookan term for a cloak made from its pelts. This species is the only living member …

Seal — The true seals are a diverse and widely distributed group of mostly marine, aquatic mammals. They are also called the earless seals because they lack external ears, having only a tiny, wrinkled ear opening on each side of the head. The true seals, family Phocidae, are classified with the eared seals (sea lions and fur seals), family Otariidae, …

Sable — The sable (Martes zibellina) is a small mammal, closely akin to the marten, living in southern Russia near the Ural Mountains through Siberia and Mongolia to Hokkaidō in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia. It has achieved fame for its fur, which is integrated into various clothes fashions (for …

Sea Otter — The sea otter (Enhydra lutris) is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the North Pacific, from northern Japan, the Kuril Islands and Kamchatka east across the Aleutian Islands and along the North American coast to Mexico. Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg, making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, …

Sea Lion — Sea lions are any of seven species in six genera of modern pinnipeds including one extinct one (the Japanese sea lion). Sea lions are characterized by the presence of external ear pinnae or flaps, long front flippers, and the ability to walk on four flippers on land. Their range extends from the subarctic to tropical waters of …

Rhinoceros — The Rhinoceros often colloquially abbreviated rhino, is one of only five surviving species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia. Three of the five species—the (Javan, Sumatran and Black Rhinoceros)—are critically endangered. The Indian is endangered, with fewer that 2500 individuals remaining in the wild. …

Rat — Rats are various medium sized rodents. “True rats” are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, R. norvegicus. Many members of other rodent genera and families are also called rats and share many characteristics with true rats. A rat has an average life …