List of mammals of South Carolina explained

This is a list of mammals that are or were historically native to the US state of South Carolina.

Balaenopteridae

• Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)
• Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis)
• Bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus)
• Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
• Right whale (Eubalaena glacialis)
• Humpback whale (Megaptera novaengliae)

Bovidae

• American bison (Bison bison) extirpated

Canidae

• Coyote (Canis latrans)
• Red wolf (Canis rufus) extirpated
• Gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)
• Red fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Cervidae

• Elk (Cervus canadensis) vagrant^[1]
  • Eastern elk (C. c. canadensis)
  • Rocky Mountain elk (C. c. nelsoni) introduced, vagrant
• White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Dasypodidae

• Nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus)

Delphinidae

• Saddleback dolphin (Delphinus delphis)
• Short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrohyncha)
• Atlantic pilot whale (Globicephala melaena)
• Grampus (Grampus griseus)
• Dense-beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris)
• Antillean beaked whale (Mesoplodon europaeus)
• True's beaked whale (Mesoplodon mirus)
• False killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens)
• Pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata)
• Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba)
• Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontails)
• Spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris)
• Rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis)
• Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)

Didelphimorphia

• Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana)

Felidae

• Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
• Cougar (Puma concolor) extirpated
  • Eastern cougar, (P. c. couguar)

Leporidae

• Swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus)
• Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)
• Marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris)
• Snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) extirpated^[2]

Mephitidae

• Striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis)
• Spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius)

Molossidae

• Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis)

Muridae

• House mouse (Mus musculus) introduced
• Meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus)
• Pine vole (Microtus pinetorum)
• Southern red-backed vole (Myodes gapperi)
• Eastern woodrat (Neotoma floridana)
• Golden mouse (Ochrotomys nuttalli)
• Muskrat (Ondatra zibethiscus)
• Marsh rice rat (Oryzomys palustris)
• Cotton mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus)
• White-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus)
• Deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus)
• Oldfield mouse (Peromyscus polionotus)
• Black rat (Rattus rattus) introduced
• Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) introduced
• Eastern harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys humulis)
• Hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus)

Mustelidae

• North American river otter (Lontra canadensis)
• Least weasel (Mustela nivalis)
• Long-tailed weasel (Neogale frenata)
• American mink (Neogale vison)

Phocidae

• Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina)

Phocoenidae

• Harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)

' Kogiidae

• Pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps)
• Dwarf sperm whale (Kogia simus)

Physeteridae

• Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus)

Procyonidae

• Raccoon (Procyon lotor)

Sciuridae

• Southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans)
• Groundhog (Marmota monax)
• Gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
• Fox squirrel (Sciurus niger)
• Eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus)
• American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)

Soricidae

• Northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda)
• Southern short-tailed shrew (Blarina carolinensis)
• Least shrew (Cryptotis parva)
• Masked shrew (Sorex cinereus)
• Smoky shrew (Sorex fumeus)
• American pygmy shrew (Sorex hoyi)
• Southeastern shrew (Sorex longirostris)

Suidae

• Wild boar (Sus scrofa) introduced

Talpidae

• Star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata)
• Hairy-tailed mole (Parascalops breweri)
• Eastern mole (Scalopus aquaticus)

Trichechidae

• West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus)

Ursidae

• Black bear (Ursus americanus)

Vespertilionidae

• Big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus)
• Silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans)
• Eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis)
• Hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus)
• Northern yellow bat (Lasiurus intermedius)
• Seminole bat (Lasiurus seminolus)
• Southeastern myotis (Myotis austroriparius)
• Eastern small-footed bat (Myotis leibii)
• Little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus)
• Northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis)
• Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis)
• Evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis)
• Tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus)
• Eastern pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus)
• Rafinesque's big-eared bat (Plecotus rafinesqueii)

Zapodidae

• Woodland jumping mouse (Napaeozapus insignis)
• Meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius)

Ziphiidae

• Goosebeaked whale (Ziphius carvirostris)

Notes and References

1. Web site: First elk seen in South Carolina since the 1700s. Keith Allen. CNN. 27 October 2016 . 15 June 2017. 16 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210116133056/https://www.cnn.com/2016/10/26/us/elk-spotted-in-south-carolina-irpt/index.html. live.
2. Web site: NatureServe Explorer 2.0 . explorer.natureserve.org . 4 November 2022.