SPECIES ACCOUNTS FOR MAMMALS

Below are accounts for each species of mammal known to occur in Texas. These accounts are arranged by their ordinal status, following the format outlined in Wilson and Reeder's Mammal Species of the World (2005) and Bradley et al.'s "Revised Checklist of North American Mammals North of Mexico, 2014" (Museum of Texas Tech University, Occasional Papers 327). While we have focused primarily on native species, at the end of each ordinal section we have included accounts for introduced species. Each account includes subheadings for description, distribution, subspecies, habits, population status (as described in the Preface), conservation status, and in some cases, remarks. Each account is accompanied by a distribution map and a photograph. In addition, each species account contains a dental formula expressed according to the methodology and abbreviations as explained in the glossary (see "dental formula").

We have included a separate chapter (Domesticated Mammals) that provides a brief synopsis for several domestic mammals that occur in feral or agricultural settings across the state.

Instructions for Interpreting Distribution Maps

On the distribution maps, black dots indicate counties where the species has been documented in the literature, as a scientific specimen in a museum collection, or in Texas Department of State Health Services records (for bats). Additional records based on confirmed sightings or Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) records are indicated by squares, and counties with TPWD hunting seasons are indicated by triangles. The estimated range for most species is indicated by gray shading; and, in some cases, former or historical distributions are indicated by diagonal hatching. Estimated boundaries between subspecies are indicated by solid black lines. Distribution maps are not provided for feral, domestic, marine, and some introduced mammals.

  

KEY TO THE MAJOR GROUPS (ORDERS) OF MAMMALS IN TEXAS

 

1. Body covered dorsally, and tail completely, by bands of bony plates; snout tapering and lacking teeth anteriorly; eight peg-like teeth on each side of upper and lower jaws. Order Cingulata, armadillos and allies.

Not as above.................................................................................................2

2. Body torpedo shaped; hind legs absent; front limbs developed into paddles; hairless or nearly so; live in ocean or coastal waters..........................................................................................................3

Not as above.................................................................................................4

3. Body ending in a broad, horizontally flattened, rounded fluke; no dorsal fin; muzzle squarish, covered with stout bristles; short bristle-like hairs scattered sparingly over rest of body; nostrils terminal; length 2.5 to 4.5 m. Order Sirenia, manatees and allies.

Body ending in horizontal, expanded (not rounded) flukes; blowhole (nostrils) on top of head; most Texas forms with dorsal fin; length 2.5 to 30 m. Order Cetacea, whales, porpoises, and dolphins.

4. Hand and arm developed into leathery wing. Order Chiroptera, bats.

Hand and arm normal, not developed into a wing...............................................5

5. All digits bearing flattened nails. Order Primates, primates.

Some or all digits bearing claws or hooves rather than flattened nails...................6

6. Hooves present on one or more toes of each foot ..........................................7

No hooves; toes usually clawed.......................................................................8

7. A single large hoof on each foot. Order Perissodactyla, odd-toed ungulates.

Two subequal and conspicuous hooves on each foot. Order Artiodactyla, even-toed ungulates.

8. Total of 10 upper incisors; big toe of hind foot without claw; tail prehensile. Order Didelphimorphia, opossums and allies.

Total of six or fewer upper incisors; all toes armed with claws; tail not prehensile

..................................................................................................................9

9. Snout highly flexible and protruding conspicuously beyond mouth; eyes very small or hidden; length of head and body usually <150 mm. Order Soricomorpha, shrews and moles.

Snout normal, or if protruding conspicuously then length of head and body much >150 mm; eyes normal.................................................................................10

10. Total of two incisors in lower jaw, one on each side......................................11

Total of four or more incisors in lower jaw (two or three on each side). Order Carnivora, carnivores.

11. Total of two incisors in upper jaw, one on each side so that incisor formula is 1/1. Order Rodentia, rodents.

Total of four incisors in upper jaw, two on each side, one in front of the other in tandem; incisor formula 2/1. Order Lagomorpha, pikas, hares and rabbits.

 

From The Mammals of Texas, Seventh Edition by David J. Schmidly and Robert D. Bradley, copyright © 1994, 2004, 2016.  Courtesy of the University of Texas Press.