Mammal Orders & Families Of The World (Big Checklist)

Gordon RamelApril 4, 2020

2 783 6 minutes read

This checklist of mammal orders and families is derived from several sources. In some cases, there is disagreement among the experts on the exact number of species. In cases like this, I have put the alternative values together separated by a slash (as in the Didelphidae below). For more information, see our guide on deer. For more information, see our guide on fish. For more information, see our guide on mammals.

However, it should be noted I do not have access to the most up-to-date data and this list should be considered to be about 10 years old. According to National Geographic, this species is well documented.

Checklist Of Mammal Orders and Families

Order	Common Names	Scientific Name	No. Genera	No. Species	IUCN	Distribution
Monotremata	Echidnas	Tachyglossidae	1	2		Australia
	Platypus	Ornithorhynchidae	1	1		Australia
Marsupiala	Opossums	Didelphidae	11	75/77		Americas
	Monito del monte	Microbiotheriidae	1	1		Chile
	Shrew or Rat Opossums	Caenolestidae	44622	7		South America
	Marsupial Mice, Dunnarts, Tasmanian Devil	Dasyuridae	17/18	52/58		Australasia
	Tasmanian Wolf	Thylacinidae	1	1	1	Tasmania
	Numbats/Banded Anteaters	Myrmecobiidae	1	1	1	Australia
	Marsupial mole	Notoryctidae	1	1		Western Australia
	Bandicoots	Peramelidae	7	17/21		Australasia
	Rabbit-eared Bandicoots	Thylacomyidae	1	2		Australia
	Possums, Cuscuses, Gledero, Ringtails	Phalangeridae	6	20		Australasia
	Pygmy possums	Burramyidae	4	7		Australia, New Guinea
	Ringtail possums	Pseudocheiridae	2	16		Australia
	Gliders	Petauridae	4	9		Australia
	Kangaroos, Wallabies	Macropodidae	16	56		Australasia
	Koalas	Phascolarctidae	1	1		Australia
	Wombats	Vombatidae	2	3		Australia
	Noolbenger or Honey Possum	Tarsipedidae	1	1		Australia
Macroscelidea	Elephant Shrews	Macroscelididae	4	15		Africa
Insectivora	Hedgehogs, Gymnures	Erinaceidae	9	20		Africa, Asia, Europe
	Moles and Desmans	Talpidae	12/15	29/32		Eurasia, North America, Himalayas
	Tenrecs	Tenrecidae	10	23		Africa
	Golden Moles	Chrysochloridae	7	18		Africa
	Solenodons	Solenodontidae	1	2		West Indies
	Shrews	Soricidae	22	289		Worldwide
Dermoptera	Flying Lemurs, Colugos	Cynocephalidae	1	2		South-east Asia
Chiroptera	Old World Fruit Bats, Flying Foxes	Pteropodidae	42	173	66	Africa to India, Australia Asia
	Mouse-tailed Bats	Rhinopomatidae	1	3		North Africa, South Asia
	Hog-nosed Bat	Craseonycteridae	1	1		Thailand
	Sac-winged Bats, Sheath-tailed Bats	Emballonuridae	12	48		Pan-tropical
	Bull-dog Bats, Fish-eating Bats	Noctilionidae	1	2		Central and South America
	Hollow-faced Bats	Nycteridae	1	13		Africa, Near East, South-east Asia
	False Vampire Bats, Yellow-winged Bats	Megadermatidae	4	5		Africa, South-east Asia, Pacific, Australia
	Horseshoe Bats, Noseleaf Bats	Rhinolophidae	1	69		Old World and Pacific
	Leaf-nosed Bats	Hipposideridae	9	63		Old World and Pacific
	New World Leaf-nosed Bats	Phyllostomidae	48	148		Americas
	Moustached Bats, Naked-backed Bats, Leaf-chinned Bats	Mormoopidae	2	8		Americas
	Funnel-eared Bats	Natalidae	1	5		Tropical Central and South America
	Smokey Bats	Furipteridae	1	1		South America
	Disc-winged Bats	Thyropteridae	1	2		Central to South America
	Sucker-footed Bats	Myzopodidae	1	1		Madagascar
	Common Bats	Vespertilionidae	42	355		Worldwide
	Short-tailed Bats	Mystacinidae	1	2		New Zealand
	Free-tailed Bats	Molossidae	16	86		Worldwide (warm areas)
Primates	Lemurs	Lemuridae	5	12		Madagascar
	Dwarf Lemurs, Mouse Lemurs	Cheirogaleidae	44685	7		Madagascar
	Sifakas, Indri, Woolly Lemurs	Indridae	3	5		Madagascar
	Aye-aye	Daubentoniidae	1	1		Madagascar
	Weasel Lemurs, Koala Lemurs	Megaladapidae	1	10		Madagascar
	Galagos	Galagonidae	4	11		Africa
	Lorises, Pottoes	Lorisidae	8	14		Tropical Old World
	Tarsiers	Tarsiidae	1	4		Sumatra, Philippines
	New World Monkeys	Cebidae	12	44		Central to South America
	Marmosets, Tamarins	Callitrichidae	5	20/21		Central to South America
	Old World Monkeys	Cercopithecidae	19	94		Africa and Eurasia
	Orangutans	Ponginae	1	1		Sumatra, Borneo
	Gibbons	Hylobatidae	1	9		S.E. Asia
	Humans, Great Apes	Hominidae*0	4	5		Worldwide
Scandentia	Tree Shrews	Tupaiidae	6	18		South-east Asia
Xenarthra *1	Anteaters	Myrmecophagidae	3	4		Central and South America
	Sloths	Bradypodidae	2	6		Central and South America
	Armadillos	Dasypodidae	8	20		The Americas
	West Indian Sloth and Two-toed Tree Sloth	Megalonychidae	1	2		The Americas
	Three-toed Tree Sloths	Bradypodidae	1	3		South America
Pholidota	Pangolins, Scaly Anteaters	Manidae	1	8		Africa, South East Asia
Tubulidentata	Aardvark	Orycteropodidae	1	1		Africa
Lagomorpha	Pikas	Ochotonidae	1	21		North America, Europe, Asia
	Hares and Rabbits	Leporidae	11	47		Worldwide, since man-made introductions
Rodentia	Mountain Beaver, Sewellel	Aplodontidae	1	1		North America
	Beavers	Castoridae	1	2		Europe and North America
	Squirrels, Chipmonks, Marmots, Prarie Dogs etc	Sciuridae	49/50	260/267		Worldwide except Australia, S. America and Madagascar
	Scaly-tailed Squirrels	Anomaluridae	3	7		Africa
	Spring Hares	Pedetidae	1	1		Africa
	Rats, Mice, Voles, Gerbils, Hamsters, etc	Muridae	245/267	1138		Worldwide following introductions to Australasia
	Dormice	Gliridae	9	20		Africa, Asia, Europe
	Bamboo Rats, African Mole Rats	Rhizomyidae	3	6		Africa, South East Asia
	Birch Mice, Jumping Mice	Zapodidae	4	17		North America, Eurasia
	Jerboas	Dipodidae	11	31		North Africa, Arabia, Asia Minor, China
	Pocket Mice, Kangaroo Rats	Heteromyidae	6	65		America
	Pocket Gophers	Geomyidae	6	37		America
	Blind Mole Rats	Spalacidae*2	1	3		Europe
	Old World Porcupines	Hystricidae	4	12		Africa, Europe, Asia, Philippines
	New World Porcupines	Erethizontidae	4	10		America
	Guinea Pigs, etc	Caviidae	5	17		South America
	Capybara	Hydrochaeridae	1	1		South America
	Coypu	Myocastoridae*3	1	1		South America and introduced to other parts of the world
	Hutias, Nutria	Capromyidae*4	4	13		Central and South America
	Pacarana	Dinomyidae	1	1		South America
	Pacas	Agoutidae	1	2		Central and South America
	Agoutis,	Dasyproctidae	2	13		Central and South America
	Chinchilla Rats	Abrocomidae	1	2		South America
	Spiny Rats	Echimyidae	17	69		South America
	Chinchillas, Viscachas	Chinchillidae	3	6		Argentina
	Octodonts, Degu	Octodontidae	5	9		South America
	Tuco Tucos	Ctenomyidae	1	44		South America
	Cane Rats, Grasscutters	Thryonomyidae	1	2		Southern Africa
	Dassie Rat	Petromyidae	1	1		South Africa
	Old World Porcupines	Hystricidae	3	11		Africa and Eurasia
	Agoutis	Dasypractidae	2	9		Central and South America
	Gundis	Ctenodactylidae	4	5		N. Africa
	Blesmols, African Mole Rats	Bathyergidae	5	8		Africa
Carnivora	Dogs, Wolves, Foxes, Jackals	Canidae	16	36*5		Worldwide
	Bears	Ursidae	3	8		Worldwide except Australia
	Racoons, etc	Procyonidae	7	19		America and parts of Asia
	Weasels, Otters, Skunks, Badgers	Mustelidae	23	65/67		Worldwide except Australasia and the West Indies
	Mongooses, Civets, Genets, etc	Viverridae	36/37	71		Eurasia, Africa and the East Indies
	Hyena, Aardwolf	Hyaenidae	3	4		Africa, Asia, India
	Cats	Felidae	17	36	17	Worldwide except in Australia and many Islands
Pinnipedia	Eared Seals, Sea Lions	Otariidae	7	14		Worldwide except Europe
	Walrus	Odobenidae	1	1		Arctic Regions of the Atlantic, and the Pacific
	Seals	Phocidae	10	19		In most seas/oceans, Lake Baikal
Cetacea	Ganges and Indus Dolphins	Platanistidae	1	2		Rivers – Indian subcontinent
	Boutos, Amazon River Dolphins	Iniidae	1	44593		Rivers – S. America
	Baiji, White-fin Dolphin	Lipotidae	1	1		Rivers – China
	Franciscana, La Plata Dolphin	Pontoporiidae	1	1		Coastal – S.E. America
	Ocean Dolphins	Delphinidae	17	34		All oceans, and some seas, rivers and estuaries
	Porpoises	Phocoenidae	4	6		Northern oceans
	Narwhal, Beluga	Monodontidae	2	2		Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas
	Sperm Whales	Physeteridae	2	3		All oceans
	Beaked Whales	Ziphiidae	6	18		All oceans
	Grey Whales	Eschrichtiidae	1	1		North Pacific
	Rorquals	Balaenopteridae	2	6		All oceans
	Right Whales	Balaenidae	2	2		All oceans
	Pygmy Right Whale	Neobalaenidae	1	1		Cooler southern oceans
Sirenia	Manatees	Trichechidae	1	3		Sub-tropical Atlantic coasts and rivers
	Dugongs	Dugongidae	1	1*6		Indo-Pacific coastal waters
Proboscidea	Elephants	Elephantidae	2	3		Africa, South East Asia, India
Hyracoidea	Hyraxes	Procaviidae	3	44872		Africa, Middle East
Perissodactyla	Horses, Zebras, Asses	Equidae	1	44780		Africa, Middle East, Tibet, Mongolia
	Tapirs	Tapiridae	1	4		South East Asia, South America
	Rhinoceroses	Rhinocerotidae	4	5		Africa, India, South Asia
Artiodactyla	Camels	Camelidae	3	6		Asia, North Africa, South America
	Pigs	Suidae	5	9		Europe, Africa, and Asia (introduced to America and Australia)
	Peccaries, Javelinas	Tayassuidae	2	3		America
	Hippopotamuses	Hippopotamidae	2	2		Africa
	Chevrotains, Mouse Deer	Tragulidae	44593	44654		South East Asia, India, Africa
	Deer, etc	Cervidae	17	45		Worldwide, introduced to Australasia
	Giraffes	Giraffidae	2	2		Africa
	Cattle, Sheep, Goats, Antelopes, etc	Bovidae	48	139		Worldwide, except in Australasia and the Poles

*⁰In many books the Great Apes are included in a separate family, the Pongidae, however, while there are strong social reasons for separating them the scientific reasons are doubtful.
*¹The Xenarthra are known as the Edentata in some books.
*²The Spalacidae are often included in the Muridae as the subfamily Spalacinae.
*³The Myocastoridae are sometimes included in the Capromyidae.
*⁴The Capromyidae is an interesting family because it contains an additional 4 genera and 18 species which have gone extinct in geologically recent times.
*⁵This includes Dusicyon australis which is considered to have gone extinct in 1870.
*⁶Note that Stellar’s Sea Cow, Hydrodamalis gigas, is believed to have become extinct around 1768.

I would like to thank Professor Brad Bergstrom, Dept. of Biology, Valdosta St. Univ. for looking over this list and for the corrections and suggestions regarding the mammal orders and families that he made. According to Mammal Society, this species is well documented.

Gordon RamelApril 4, 2020

2 783 6 minutes read

2 Comments

indyjones says:
August 12, 2021 at 9:12 pm
I’m wondering why this table isn’t arranged alphabetically by order. It would be more useful to me and others I should think.
1. Gordon Ramel says:
  August 13, 2021 at 8:05 am
  The arrangement of the orders pretty much follows George Gaylord Simpson’s classic “Principles of Classification and a Classification of Mammals” (Simpson, 1945) which was the basic textbook system up until the end of the last century. The apparent alphabetic disorganization is created by un-included (for simplification) of higher levels of classification that represent degrees of relatedness, such as infraclass and subclass which link various orders together. That said this table is now well out of date and I will put updating it on the top of my to do list.