List of mammals of Minnesota explained

This list of mammals of Minnesota includes the mammals native to Minnesota. It also shows their status in the wild. There are 81 native and 5 introduced mammal species found in the state. American bison, caribou, and wolverines were extirpated from the state. Minnesota does not have a state mammal but several have been proposed: The northern white tailed deer was proposed eight times, the eastern wolf was proposed six times, the American black bear and thirteen-lined ground squirrel were each proposed once.^[1]

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature; those on the left are used here, those in the second column in some other articles:

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 population well outside its historic range.
CR		Critically endangered	The species is in imminent danger of extinction in the wild.
EN		Endangered	The species is facing a very 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 qualify as being at high risk of extinction but is likely to do so in the future.
LC		Least concern	The species is not currently at risk of extinction in the wild.
DD		Data deficient	There is inadequate information to assess the risk of extinction for this species.
NE		Not evaluated	The conservation status of the species has not been studied.

Didelphimorphs

Opossums

• Virginia opossum, Didelphis virginiana

Rodents

Squirrels

• Northern flying squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus
• Southern flying squirrel, Glaucomys volans
• Woodchuck, Marmota monax
• Least chipmunk, Neotamias minimus
• Eastern gray squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis
• Fox squirrel, Sciurus niger
• Franklin's ground squirrel, Spermophilus franklinii
• Richardson's ground squirrel, Spermophilus richardsonii
• Thirteen-lined ground squirrel, Spermophilus tridecemlineatus
• Eastern chipmunk, Tamias striatus
• American red squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
• Black-tailed prairie dog, Cynomys ludovicianus introduced

Beavers

• American beaver, Castor canadensis

Gophers

• Plains pocket gopher, Geomys bursarius
• Northern pocket gopher, Thomomys talpoides

Pocket mice

• Plains pocket mouse, Perognathus flavescens

Cricetids

• Eastern deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus
• White-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus
• Western deer mouse, Peromyscus sonoriensis
• Western harvest mouse, Reithrodontomys megalotis
• Northern grasshopper mouse, Onychomys leucogaster
• Northern bog lemming, Synaptomys borealis
• Southern bog lemming, Synaptomys cooperi
• Rock vole, Microtus chrotorrhinus
• Prairie vole, Microtus ochrogaster
• Woodland vole, Microtus pinetorum
• Meadow vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus
• Eastern heather vole, Phenacomys ungava
• Southern red-backed vole, Myodes gapperi
• Muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus

Murids

• House mouse, Mus musculus introduced
• Brown rat, Rattus norvegicus introduced

Jumping mice

• Meadow jumping mouse, Zapus hudsonius
• Woodland jumping mouse, Napaeozapus insignis

Porcupines

• North American porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum

Lagomorphs

Hares

• Snowshoe hare, Lepus americanus
• White-tailed jackrabbit, Lepus townsendii

Cottontail rabbits

• Eastern cottontail, Sylvilagus floridanus

Eulipotyphlans

Shrews

• Northern short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicauda
• North American least shrew, Cryptotis parva
• Arctic shrew, Sorex arcticus
• Masked shrew, Sorex cinereus
• American pygmy shrew, Sorex hoyi
• American water shrew, Sorex palustris

Moles

• Star-nosed mole, Condylura cristata
• Eastern mole, Scalopus aquaticus

Bats

Evening bats

• Big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus
• Silver-haired bat, Lasionycteris noctivagans
• Hoary bat, Lasiurus cinereus
• Eastern red bat, Lasiurus borealis
• Little brown bat, Myotis lucifugus
• Northern long-eared myotis, Myotis septentrionalis
• Eastern pipistrelle, Pipistrellus subflavus

Carnivorans

Procyonids

• Common raccoon, Procyon lotor

Mustelids

• Wolverine, Gulo gulo extirpated
• Northern river otter, Lontra canadensis
• American marten, Martes americana
• Least weasel, Mustela nivalis
• American ermine, Mustela richardsonii
  • Western Great Lakes stoat, M. r. bangsi
• Beringian ermine or stoat, Mustela erminea
• Long-tailed weasel, Neogale frenata
• American mink, Neogale vison
• Fisher, Pekania pennanti
• American badger, Taxidea taxus

Skunks

• Striped skunk, Mephitis mephitis
• Eastern spotted skunk, Spilogale putorius

Canines

• Coyote, Canis latrans
• Gray wolf, Canis lupus
• Eastern wolf, Canis lycaon
• Gray fox, Urocyon cinereoargenteus
• Swift fox, Vulpes velox vagrant
• Red fox, Vulpes vulpes
  • American red fox, V. v. fulva
  • Northern plains fox, V. v. regalis ^[2]

Felines

• Canada lynx, Lynx canadensis
• Bobcat, Lynx rufus
• Cougar, Puma concolor vagrant^[3]

Bears

• American black bear, Ursus americanus

Artiodactyls

Deer

• Moose, Alces alces
• Elk, Cervus canadensis
• White-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus
  • Northern white-tailed deer, O. v. borealis ^[4]
  • Dakota white-tailed deer, O. v. dacotensis
  • Kansas white-tailed deer, O. v. macrourus
• Caribou, Rangifer tarandus extirpated
  • Woodland caribou, R. t. caribou extirpated
• Mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus
• Sika deer, Cervus nippon introduced

Pronghorn

• Pronghorn, Antilocapra americana vagrant

Bovids

• American bison, Bison bison extirpated
  • Plains bison, B. b. bison extirpated

Pigs

• Wild boar, Sus scrofa introduced

References

• Burt, W. H., and R. P. Grossenheider (1976). Field Guide to the Mammals: North America North of Mexico. Third edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts, US.
• Gunderson, H. L., and J. R. Beer (1953). "Mammals of Minnesota". Occasional Papers, Minnesota Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota. 6: 1-190.
• Hazard, E. B. 1982. Mammals of Minnesota. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• Heany, L. R., and E. C. Birney (1975). "Comments on the distribution and natural history of some mammals in Minnesota". Canadian Field-Naturalist. 89 (1): 29-34.
• Wiche, J. M. and J. F. Cassel (1978). "Checklist of North Dakota mammals. (Revised)". The Prairie Naturalist 10 (3): 81-88.
• Wilson, D. E., and F. R. Cole (2000). Common Names of the Mammals of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., US.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Unofficial, Proposed, or Facetious State Symbols - Minnesota . 2022-12-15 . Minnesota State Legislature.
2. Web site: red fox . 2022-12-16 . MinnesotaSeasons.com.
3. Web site: Super rare video of cougar in northern Minnesota . . 3 November 2022 .
4. Web site: whitetail deer . 2022-12-16 . MinnesotaSeasons.com.