Mammals of New Zealand explained

Prior to human settlement, the mammals of New Zealand consisted entirely of several species of bat and several dozen marine mammal species. Far earlier, during the Miocene, at least one "archaic" terrestrial mammal species is known to have existed, the Saint Bathans mammal. The Māori brought the kurī (Polynesian Dog) and kiore (Polynesian rat) in about 1250 CE,^[1] and Europeans from 1769 onwards brought the pig, mice, two additional species of rats, weasels, stoats, ferrets and possums and many other species, some of which cause conservation problems for indigenous species.

Native species

See main article: List of mammals of New Zealand.

• Three recent species of bats: the long-tailed, short-tailed and lesser short-tailed. Though they varied in range, Holocene fossils of all three species have been found near Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua at the far north of the North Island. The Miocene Saint Bathans Fauna showcases a considerably higher diversity of at least four mystacine species, a vesper bat and several incertae sedis taxa.^[2]
• Several dozen species of whales and dolphins including the small endemic Hector's dolphin
• Seven species of seal or sea lion
• The Miocene Saint Bathans mammal.

Conservation status

• The New Zealand lesser short-tailed bat is considered endangered (EN), whereas the New Zealand greater short-tailed bat is presumed extinct (EX) with the last sighting being in 1967. The New Zealand long-tailed bat is considered to be critically endangered (CR).
• The sei, fin and blue whales are all endangered (EN), as is the Hector's dolphin which is found only in New Zealand waters.

The Department of Conservation ranks priorities for conservation with the New Zealand Threat Classification System.

Introduced species

The Māori introduced two species: the kurī (dog) and kiore (Polynesian rat). European settlers introduced all other mammal species.

Mammals introduced by Europeans

Species	Year of introduction^[3]	Further information
Red-necked wallaby
Black rat	2024
Cat	as early as 1820	Cats in New Zealand
Cattle	1814
Chamois	1907
Common brushtail possum	1837	Common brushtail possum in New Zealand
Tammar wallaby
Elk (wapiti)
European hare	1851
European hedgehog	1870	European hedgehog in New Zealand
European fallow deer	1864
Ferret	1879
Goat	late 1700s
Himalayan tahr
House mouse
Kiore	1250
Kurī	1250
Least weasel
Moose	1900, 1910	Moose - New Zealand
Brown rat	1800s
European rabbit	1838	European rabbit in New Zealand
Red deer	from 1851
Sambar deer	1875-76
Sheep	1773
Stoat		Stoat in New Zealand
White-tailed deer
Wild boar	1773

See also

• Fauna of New Zealand

Further reading

• Book: King , Carolyn M. . Oxford University Press, USA. 0-19-558320-5. The Handbook of New Zealand Mammals. 1995.

Notes and References

1. Lowe . David J. . Polynesian settlement of New Zealand and the impacts of volcanism on early Maori society: an update. . 2010-01-18 . 978-0-473-14476-0 . Guidebook for Pre-conference North Island Field Trip A1 'Ashes and Issues' . November 2008 . 142.
2. Worthy, Trevor; Hand, SJ; Worthy, TH; Archer, M; Worthy, JP; Tennyson, AJD; Scofield, RP (2013). "Miocene mystacinids (Chiroptera, Noctilionoidea) indicate a long history for endemic bats in New Zealand". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 33 (6): 1442-1448.
3. Book: King, Carolyn M.. 1985. Immigrant Killers: Introduced Predators and the Conservation of Birds in New Zealand. Oxford University Press. Auckland. 978-0-19-558115-7 .