Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Brown Lemming
Unlike Norwegian Lemmings, Brown Lemmings do not migrate en masse when they overpopulate their homes in the treeless regions of the north, but they do tend to wander. These are stout-bodied, herbivorous rodents with extremely short...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Arctic Hare
The beautiful Arctic Hare has a far northerly distribution in the tundra of Greenland and Canada. Arctic Hares are larger, heavier, and more thickly furred than Snowshoe Hares. Learn more about the Lepus arcticus, more commonly known as...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: California Leaf Nosed Bat
California leaf-nosed bats usually use their sense of sight (rather than echolocation) when they are foraging, and resort to echolocation only in total darkness. They fly slowly, close to the ground or to vegetation, and often take...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Bowhead Whale
Bowheads live in icy Arctic seas. A smooth back with no dorsal fin, a blowhole placed in a high crown at the top of the head, and a thick layer of blubber for insulation equip them for this environment. Learn more about the Balaena...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: California Vole
The California Vole occurs throughout much of California and southwestern Oregon, with disjunct subspecies in the Mojave Desert, the White Mountain/Panamint ranges, and northern Baja California. California Voles construct surface runways...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Beach Vole
Found only on Muskeget Island, the Beach Vole became isolated from its closest relative, the Meadow Vole, about 3,000 years ago during a glacial melt and rise in sea level. It is the only mammal endemic to Massachusetts, the result of...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Blue Whale
As far as we know, the blue whale is the largest animal ever to have existed on the planet. Weights up to 190,000 kg (as much as 30-40 African elephants) have been recorded. Learn more about the Balaenoptera musculus, more commonly known...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Black Footed Ferret
Once widespread in the grasslands and western basins of North America, by 1987 Black-footed Ferrets were thought to be extinct in the wild. Captive animals were bred in an effort to save the species, and in 1991, some were reintroduced...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: California Myotis
California myotis are found in deserts and arid basins. They drink at small waterholes, and when they forage, they fly low and slow over water and other open areas, and at forest edges. Learn more about the Myotis californicus, more...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Bryde's Whale
Found worldwide in warm-temperate and tropical waters, Bryde's whale avoids cold water, unlike most rorquals. Some individuals tend to live in coastal waters; others are migratory and occur well offshore. Learn more about the...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Cave Myotis
The cave myotis, one of the larger myotis species, has a stubby-nosed appearance. The ears reach only to the end of the short nose when bent forward. Learn more about the Myotis velifer, more commonly known as a Cave Myotis, in this...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Big Free Tailed Bat
The big free-tailed bat has long, narrow, tapering wings. The length and shape of the wings give it speed and enable it to fly long distances, but its flight is not as maneuverable as that of bats with shorter, broader wings. Learn more...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Collared Peccary
There are only three species of Peccaries in the world, all in South America. Only Collared Peccaries also live in North America. Learn more about the Pecari tajacu, more commonly known as a Collared Peccary, in this easy-to-read species...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Caribou
Caribou, or Reindeer, is the only deer species in which both males and females have candelabra-like antlers. They live in large, migratory herds along the tree line of northern forests, eating mostly grass-like plants and shrubs in...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: American Beaver
The largest North American rodent and the only one with a broad, flat, scaly tail, the Beaver is now common and widespread, even in areas it did not inhabit during pre-colonial times. The modifications it makes to the environment by...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Columbian Ground Squirrel
Columbian Ground Squirrels live in large colonies, and both males and females are territorial. Males defend a small core area within their home range, trying to keep other males from access to females. Learn more about the Spermophilus...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Arctic Ground Squirrel
Arctic Ground Squirrels must cope with a harsh environment that offers long, cold winters, strong winds, a short growing season, permafrost, poor drainage, and limited cover. The squirrels are, by necessity, dormant for seven months each...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Belding's Ground Squirrel
Belding's Ground Squirrels spend almost three-quarters of their lives hibernating in large underground colonies, so they have only three months a year to forage, grow, and reproduce. Females come into estrus on a single day for a few...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: California Ground Squirrel
California Ground Squirrels prefer open, well-drained habitat, and are common along roadsides, on farms, especially where grain is grown, and in grassy fields. Adult squirrels are active only a few months of the year. Learn more about...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Clymene Dolphin
The Clymene dolphin is distinguished from the very similar spinner dolphin by the shortness of its beak and its color pattern. Like spinners, they "spin," leaping high out the water and rotating (not a somersault, but a sideways roll)...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Atlantic Spotted Dolphin
The Atlantic spotted dolphin is seen in coastal waters from the Carolinas south to Brazil, usually staying within about 350 km of the coast. Another population is known from the Gulf Stream near New England. Learn more about the Stenella...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Brazilian Free Tailed Bat
Millions of Brazilian free-tailed bats spend their summers in the southwestern United States. Gigantic colonies summer in Bracken Cave, Texas; Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico; and even within the city of Austin, Texas, under the Congress...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Allen's Chipmunk
Allen's chipmunks live in mature forests and spend a lot of their time in the trees, but search for food on the forest floor. Females are larger than males, and the chipmunks that live in coastal redwood forests are larger than the ones...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: California Chipmunk
California chipmunks typically live at elevations of 1,200-2,500 m in habitats where vegetation is sparse but rocks are plentiful. They use cracks in the rocks, or burrows dug under them, for food storage and nests. Learn more about the...