List of mammals of Nebraska explained

This is a full list of the mammals indigenous to the U.S. state of Nebraska. It consists of 89 mammals either live or have lived in the state.^[1] ^[2] ^[3] As a state located in the northern Great Plains, Nebraska has a diverse mammalian fauna, due to the intersection of major climatic and environmental zones within its boundaries.

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature:

	Extinct	No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
	Extinct in the wild	Known only to survive in captivity or as a naturalized populations well outside its previous range.
	Critically endangered	The species is in imminent risk of extinction in the wild.
	Endangered	The species is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
	Vulnerable	The species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
	Near threatened	The species does not meet any of the criteria that would categorize it as risking extinction but it is likely to do so in the future.
	Least concern	There are no current identifiable risks to the species.
	Data deficient	There is inadequate information to make an assessment of the risks to this species.

Opossums

Family Didelphidae (opossums)
- Subfamily: Didelphinae
  - Genus: Didelphis
    - Virginia opossum, D. virginiana

Armadillos

Family Dasypodidae (armadillos)
- Genus: Dasypus
  - Nine-banded armadillo, D. novemcinctus

Insectivores

Eulipotyphlans are insectivorous mammals. Shrews closely resemble mice, while moles are stout-bodied burrowers.

Family Soricidae (shrews)
- Genus: Blarina
  - Northern short-tailed shrew B. brevicauda
  - Elliot's short-tailed shrew B. hylophaga
- Genus: Cryptotis
  - North American least shrew C. parva
- Genus: Sorex
  - Masked shrew S. cinereus
Family Talpidae (moles)
- Genus: Scalopus
  - Eastern mole, S. aquaticus

Lagomorphs

Family Lagomorpha (rabbits, hares and pikas)
- Genus: Lepus
  - Black-tailed jackrabbit, L. californicus
  - White-tailed jackrabbit, L. townsendii
- Genus: Sylvilagus
  - Desert cottontail, S. audubonii
  - Eastern cottontail, S. floridanus
  - Mountain cottontail, S. nuttallii

Rodents

Family Castoridae (beavers)
- Genus: Castor
  - North American beaver, C. canadensis
Family Cricetidae (New World mice, rats, voles, lemmings, muskrats)
- Genus: Microtus
  - Prairie vole, M. ochrogaster
  - Meadow vole, M. pennsylvanicus
  - Woodland vole, M. pinetorum
- Genus: Clethrionomys
  - Southern red-backed vole, C. gapperi
- Genus: Neotoma
  - Bushy-tailed woodrat, N. cinerea
  - Eastern woodrat, N. floridana
- Genus: Onychomys
  - Northern grasshopper mouse, O. leucogaster
- Genus: Peromyscus
  - White-footed mouse, P. leucopus
  - North American deermouse, P. maniculatus
- Genus: Ondatra
  - Muskrat, O. zibethicus
- Genus: Peromyscus
  - White-footed mouse, P. leucopus
  - Western deer mouse, P. sonoriensis
- Genus: Reithrodontomys
  - Western harvest mouse, R. megalotis
  - Plains harvest mouse, R. montanus
- Genus: Sigmodon
  - Hispid cotton rat, S. hispidus
- Genus: Synaptomys
  - Southern bog lemming, S. cooperi
Family Dipodidae (jumping mice)
- Genus: Zapus
  - Meadow jumping mouse, Z. hudsonius
Family Erethizontidae (New World porcupines)
- Genus: Erethizon
  - North American porcupine, E. dorsatum
Family Muridae (Old World mice and rats)
- Genus: Mus
  - House mouse, M. musculus introduced
- Genus: Rattus
  - Brown rat, R. norvegicus introduced
  - Black rat, R. rattus introduced
Family Sciuridae (squirrels)
- Genus: Glaucomys
  - Southern flying squirrel, G. volans
- Genus: Marmota
  - Groundhog, M. monax
- Genus: Sciurus
  - Eastern gray squirrel, S. carolinensis
  - Fox squirrel, S. niger
- Genus: Urocitellus
  - Wyoming ground squirrel, U. elegans
- Genus: Poliocitellus
  - Franklin's ground squirrel, P. franklinii
- Genus: Xerospermophilus
  - Spotted ground squirrel, X. spilosoma
- Genus: Neotamias
  - Least chipmunk, N. minimus
- Genus: Ictidomys
  - Thirteen-lined ground squirrel, I. tridecemlineatus
- Genus: Tamias
  - Eastern chipmunk, T. striatus
- Genus: Cynomys
  - Black-tailed prairie dog, C. ludovicianus
Family Heteromyidae (pocket mice and kangaroo rats)
- Genus: Perognathus
  - Olive-backed pocket mouse, P. fasciatus
  - Plains pocket mouse, P. flavescens
  - Silky pocket mouse, P. flavus
- Genus: Chaetodipus
  - Hispid pocket mouse, C. hispidus
- Genus: Dipodomys
  - Ord's kangaroo rat, D. ordii
Family Geomyidae (pocket gophers)
- Genus: Geomys
  - Plains pocket gopher, G. bursarius
- Genus: Thomomys
  - Northern pocket gopher, T. talpoides

Bats

Family Vespertilionidae (vesper bats)
- Genus: Aeorestes
  - Hoary bat, A. cinereus
- Genus: Corynorhinus
  - Townsend's big-eared bat, C. townsendii
- Genus: Eptesicus
  - Big brown bat, E. fuscus
- Genus: Lasionycteris
  - Silver-haired bat, L. noctivagans
- Genus: Lasiurus
  - Eastern red bat, L. borealis
- Genus: Myotis
  - Western small-footed myotis, M. ciliolabrum
  - Little brown bat, M. lucifugus
  - Northern long-eared bat, M. septentrionalis
  - Fringed myotis, M. thysanodes
  - Long-legged myotis, M. volans
- Genus: Nycticeius
  - Evening bat, N. humeralis
- Genus: Perimyotis
  - Tricolored bat, P. subflavus
Family Free-tailed bat (free-tailed bats)
- Genus: Tadarida
  - Mexican free-tailed bat, T. brasiliensis

Carnivores

Family Canidae (canids)
- Genus: Canis
  - Coyote, C. latrans
  - Gray wolf, C. lupus extirpated
    - Great Plains wolf, C. l. nubilus extinct
- Genus: Vulpes
  - Swift fox, V. velox
  - Red fox, V. vulpes
Family Procyonidae (raccoons)
- Genus: Procyon
  - Common raccoon, P. lotor
Family Ursidae (bears)
- Genus: Ursus
  - American black bear, U. americanus
  - Brown bear, U. arctos extirpated
    - Grizzly bear, U. a. horribilis extirpated
Family Felidae (cats)
- Genus: Lynx
  - Canada lynx, L. canadensis extirpated, vagrant^[4]
  - Bobcat, L. rufus
- Genus: Puma
  - Cougar, P. concolor
Family Mustelidae (weasels, minks, martens, fishers, and otters)
- Genus: Lontra
  - North American river otter, L. canadensis reintroduced^[4]
- Genus: Mustela
  - Black-footed ferret, M. nigripes extirpated
  - Least weasel, M. nivalis
- Genus: Neogale
  - Long-tailed weasel, N. frenata
  - American mink, N. vison
- Genus: Taxidea
  - American badger, T. taxus
Family Mephitidae (skunks)
- Genus: Mephitis
  - Striped skunk, M. mephitis
- Genus: Spilogale
  - Western spotted skunk, S. gracilis
  - Eastern spotted skunk, S. putorius

Even-toed ungulates

Family Antilocapridae (pronghorns)
- Genus: Antilocapra
  - Pronghorn, A. americana
Family Bovidae (bovids)
- Genus: Bison
  - American bison, B. bison reintroduced
- Genus: Ovis
  - Bighorn sheep, O. canadensis reintroduced
Family Cervidae (deer)
- Genus: Alces
  - Moose, A. alces vagrant
- Genus: Cervus
  - Elk, C. canadensis reintroduced
  - Sika deer, C. nippon introduced
- Genus: Odocoileus
  - Mule deer, O. hemionus
  - White-tailed deer, O. virginianus

References

Book: A Preliminary Review of the Mammals of Nebraska. Swenk. Myron Harmon. H.B. Ward. 1908. 88. Google books.
Velich. Ralph. Notes on Mammals from Nebraska and Southwestern Iowa. Journal of Mammalogy. 42. February 20, 1961. 1. 92–94. 10.2307/1377247. 1377247.

Notes and References

Book: Genoways. Hugh H.. Hoffman. Justin D.. Freeman. Patricia W.. Mammals of Nebraska: Checklist, Key, and Bibliography. Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum. October 2008.
http://outdoornebraska.gov/watchablewildlifemammals/ Watchable wildlife - Mammals
Jones Jr.. J. Knox. Checklist of Mammals of Nebraska. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. 1957. Kansas Academy of Science. 60. 3. 273–282. 10.2307/3626860. 3626860.
Web site: Recent Records of Formerly Extirpated Carnivores in Nebraska. 2023-08-14.