List of mammals of India


This list of mammals of India comprises all the mammal species alive in India today. Some of them are common to the point of being considered vermin while others are exceedingly rare. Many species are known from just a few zoological specimens in museums collected in the 19th and 20th centuries. Many of the carnivores and larger mammals are restricted in their distribution to forests in protected areas, while others live within cities in the close proximity of humans. They range in size from the Eurasian pygmy shrew to the Asian elephant. They include nocturnal small mammals endemic to India such as the Malabar large-spotted civet. While the status of many of these species is unknown, some are definitely extinct. Populations of many carnivores are threatened. The tiger, dhole, and Malabar large-spotted civet are some of the most endangered carnivore species. Two rhinoceros species are extinct within the Indian region, but the remaining species, the Indian rhinoceros has its last stronghold within India.

Order: Eulipotyphla

Family Erinaceidae: hedgehogs">Hedgehog">hedgehogs

Family Talpidae: moles">Mole (animal)">moles

Family Soricidae: shrews">Shrew">shrews

Soricinae

Crocidurinae

Order: Scandentia

Family Tupaiidae: treeshrews">Treeshrew">treeshrews

Tupaiinae

Order: Chiroptera: bats">Bat">bats

Family Pteropodidae: fruit bats

Family Rhinopomatidae: mouse-tailed bats

Family Emballonuridae: sheath-tailed bats

Family Megadermatidae: false vampire bats

Family Rhinolophidae: horseshoe bats

Family Hipposideridae: leaf-nosed bats

Family Vespertilionidae: evening bats

Family Molossidae: free-tailed bats

Order: Primates

Family Lorisidae: lorises

Family Cercopithecidae: Old World monkeys

Family Hylobatidae: lesser apes (gibbons)

Earlier classified as a single species, the hoolock gibbon has been reclassified as follows:

Order: Carnivora: Carnivorans

Family Canidae: canines/dogs

Family Felidae: cats

Family Viverridae: civets and palm civets

Family Prionodontidae: Asiatic linsangs

Family Ursidae: bears

Family Ailuropodidae: pandas

Family Mustelidae: mustelids

Family Herpestidae: mongooses

Family Hyaenidae: hyenas

Order: Cetacea: whales, dolphins, and porpoises

Family Delphinidae

Family Platanistidae: river dolphins

Family Balaenopteridae

Family Balaenidae

Family Ziphiidae

Family Phocoenidae

Family Kogiidae

Family Physeteridae

Order: Sirenia

Family Dugongidae

Order: Proboscidea

Family Elephantidae: elephants

Order: Perissodactyla: odd-toed ungulates

Family Equidae: horses

Family Rhinocerotidae: rhinoceroses

Order: Artiodactyla: even-toed ungulates

Family Suidae: pigs

Family Tragulidae: chevrotains

Family Moschidae

Family Cervidae: deer

Family Bovidae: bovids

Order: Pholidota: pangolins

Family Manidae: pangolins

Order: Rodentia

Family Sciuridae: squirrels

Family Muridae: Old World rats, mice

Family Hystricidae: Old World porcupines

Order: Lagomorpha: hares, rabbits, pikas

Family Leporidae: hares and rabbits

Family Ochotonidae: pikas

Other references