List of Mammals of Great Britain

List Of Mammals Of Great Britain

This is a list mammals of Great Britain. The Great Britain mammal fauna is somewhat impoverished compared to that of continental Europe due to the short period of time between the last ice age and the flooding of the land bridge between Great Britain and the rest of Europe. Only those land species which crossed before the creation of the English Channel and those introduced by humans exist in Great Britain.

Great Britain holds a small (Scottish) population of European Wildcats, important populations of Grey Seals, and rare bat species.

Native (usually synonymous with "indigenous") species are considered to be species which are today present in the region in question, and have been continuously present in that region since a certain period of time. When applied to Great Britain, three possible definitions of this time constraint are:

  • a species that colonised the islands during the glacial retreat at the end of the last ice age (c.9500 years ago);
  • a species that was present when the English Channel was created (c.8000 years ago);
  • or, a species that was present in Prehistory.

This list includes mammals from the small islands around Great Britain and the Channel Islands. There are no endemic mammal species in Great Britain, although four distinct subspecies of rodents arose on small islands.

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the IUCN:

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 populations well outside its previous range.
RE Regionally Extinct The species is extinct in the wild in the region.
CR Critically Endangered The species is in imminent risk of extinction in the wild.
EN Endangered The species is facing an extremely 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 meet any of the criteria that would categorise it as risking extinction but it is likely to do so in the future.
LC Least Concern There are no current identifiable risks to the species.
DD Data Deficient There is inadequate information to make an assessment of the risks to this species.

Read more about List Of Mammals Of Great Britain:  Diprotodontia, Rodentia, Lagomorpha, Primates, Hedgehogs, Shrews and Moles, Bats, Even-toed Ungulates, Odd-toed Ungulates, Carnivorans

Famous quotes containing the words list of, list and/or britain:

    “Every morning I woke in dread, waiting for the day nurse to go on her rounds and announce from the list of names in her hand whether or not I was for shock treatment, the new and fashionable means of quieting people and of making them realize that orders are to be obeyed and floors are to be polished without anyone protesting and faces are to be made to be fixed into smiles and weeping is a crime.”
    —Janet Frame (b. 1924)

    “Lastly, his tomb
    Shall list and founder in the troughs of grass
    And none shall speak his name.”
    —Karl Shapiro (b. 1913)

    “Only in Britain could it be thought a defect to be “too clever by half.” The probability is that too many people are too stupid by three-quarters.”
    —John Major (b. 1943)