List of mammals of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands

This is a list of the mammal species recorded in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, a small Indian Ocean archipelago approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka. There are two non-marine mammal species in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, neither of which is believed to be threatened.

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

Some species were assessed using an earlier set of criteria. Species assessed using this system have the following instead of near threatened and least concern categories:

Order: Chiroptera (bats)

The bats' most distinguishing feature is that their forelimbs are developed as wings, making them the only mammals capable of flight. Bat species account for about 20% of all mammals.

• Family: Molossidae
  • Genus: Chaerephon
    • Wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bat, Chaerephon plicata LC
• Family: Vespertilionidae
  • Subfamily: Vespertilioninae
    • Genus: Pipistrellus
      • Least pipistrelle, Pipistrellus tenuis LR/lc

Order: Cetacea (whales and dolphins and porpoises)

The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. They are the mammals most fully adapted to aquatic life with a spindle-shaped nearly hairless body, protected by a thick layer of blubber, and forelimbs and tail modified to provide propulsion underwater.

• Suborder: Mysticeti
  • Family: Balaenopteridae
    • Subfamily: Balaenopterinae
      • Genus: Balaenoptera
        • Omura's whale, Balaenoptera omurai (possible)DD
• Suborder: Odontoceti
  • Superfamily: Platanistoidea
    • Family: Ziphidae
      • Subfamily: Hyperoodontinae
        • Genus: Mesoplodon
          • Blainville's beaked whale, Mesoplodon densirostris DD
    • Family: Delphinidae (marine dolphins)
      • Genus: Feresa
        • Pygmy killer whale, Feresa attenuata DD

Order: Sirenia (sea cows)

The dugong is not a native species to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, however, a solitary animal started to inhabit the southern lagoon in 2002.

• Family: Dugongidae
  • Subfamily: Dugonginae
    • Genus: Dugong
      • Dugong, D. dugon VU

Notes

References

• "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Mammals of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands". IUCN. 2001. Retrieved 22 May 2007.
• "Mammal Species of the World". Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. 2005. Archived from the original on 27 April 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2007.
• "Animal Diversity Web". University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. 1995–2006. Retrieved 22 May 2007.

See also

• Fauna of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
• List of mammals of Christmas Island
• List of chordate orders
• Lists of mammals by region
• List of prehistoric mammals
• Mammal classification
• List of mammals described in the 2000s