List of mammals of Christmas Island

This is a list of the mammal species recorded on Christmas Island. The island had five native and endemic land mammal species, of which four are now believed to be extinct.^[1] In addition, five exotic wild mammals have been introduced to Christmas Island.

Carnivora

Name	Species Authority	Order	Family	Notes
Feral cat[2]	Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758	Carnivora	Felidae	introduced to Christmas Island.
Wild dog[2]	Canis lupus familiaris Linnaeus, 1758	Carnivora	Canidae	introduced to Christmas Island.

Chiroptera

Name	Species Authority	Order	Family	Notes	Red List
Christmas Island pipistrelle	Pipistrellus murrayi Andrews, 1900	Chiroptera	Vespertilionidae	endemic to Christmas Island; possibly extinct since 2009.[3]	[4]
Christmas Island flying fox	Pteropus natalis Andrews, 1900	Chiroptera	Pteropodidae	endemic to Christmas Island.[5]	[6]

Eulipotyphla

Name	Species Authority	Order	Family	Notes	Red List
Christmas Island shrew	Crocidura trichura Dobson, 1889	Eulipotyphla	Soricidae	endemic to Christmas Island. Possibly extinct; last observed in 1985.[1]	[7]

Rodentia

At the time of human settlement, Christmas Island hosted two endemic rodents, the bulldog rat and Maclear's rat. However, both species were extinct by 1908.^[8][9] There is evidence that black rats, introduced to the island in 1899, carried the infectious parasite Trypanosoma lewisi, which was fatal to the native rodents.^[10]

Name	Species Authority	Order	Family	Notes	Red List
Maclear's rat	Rattus macleari Thomas, 1888	Rodentia	Muridae	endemic to Christmas Island; extinct.	[8]
Bulldog rat	Rattus nativitatis Thomas, 1888	Rodentia	Muridae	endemic to Christmas Island; extinct.	[9]
Black rat[2]	Rattus rattus Linnaeus, 1758	Rodentia	Muridae	introduced to Christmas Island in 1899.[10]	[11]
House mouse[2]	Mus musculus Linnaeus, 1758	Rodentia	Muridae	introduced to Christmas Island.	[12]
Pacific rat[13]	Rattus exulans Peale, 1848	Rodentia	Muridae	introduced to Christmas Island.	[13]

Cetacea

Name	Species Authority	Order	Family	Notes	Red List
Humpback whale	Megaptera novaeangliae Gray, 1846	Cetacea	Balaenopteridae	Native migrant.	[14]
Blue or Pygmy blue whales	Balaenoptera musculus intermedia Linnaeus, 1758	Cetacea	Balaenoptiidae	Possible migrant.
Southern fin whale	Balaenoptera physalus quoyi Linnaeus, 1758	Cetacea	Balaenoptiidae	Native migrant or resident.
Sei whale	Balaenoptera borealis schlegelii Linnaeus, 1758	Cetacea	Balaenoptiidae	Native migrant.
Bryde's whale	Balaenoptera brydei Linnaeus, 1758	Cetacea	Balaenoptiidae	Native migrant or resident.
Antarctic minke whale	Megaptera novaeangliae Linnaeus, 1758	Cetacea	Physeteridae	Native migrant.
Sperm whale	Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758	Cetacea	Physeteridae	Native migrant or resident.	[15]
Short-finned pilot whale	Globicephala macrorhynchus Gray, 1846	Cetacea	Globicephala	Native migrant or resident.	[16]
Killer whale	Orcinus orca Linnaeus, 1758	Cetacea	Delphinidae	Native migrant or resident.	[17]
Spinner dolphin	Stenella longirostris Gray, 1828	Cetacea	Delphinidae	Native migrant or resident.
Short-beaked common dolphin	Delphinus delphis Linnaeus, 1758	Cetacea	Delphinidae	Native migrant or resident.
Common bottlenose dolphin	Tursiops truncatus Montagu, 1821	Cetacea	Delphinidae	Possible migrant.

Sirenia

Name	Species Authority	Order	Family	Notes	Red List
Dugong	Dugong dugon Lacépède, 1799	Sirenia	Dugongidae	Vagrant possible.	[17]

See also

• Birds of Christmas Island
• List of mammals of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands

References

1. John Woinarski "Australian endangered species: Christmas Island Shrew" The Conversation, 9 May 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
2. "Native animals" Christmas Island National Park, Australian government. Retrieved 27 January, 2016.
3. Tara Martin, "Threat of extinction demands fast and decisive action" The Conversation, 24 July 2012. Retrieved 27 January, 2016.
4. Lumsden, L., Racey, P.A. & Hutson, A.M. (2009). "Pipistrellus murrayi ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 3.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
5. "Pteropus natalis — Christmas Island Flying-fox Species Profile and Threats Database, Australian government. Retrieved 27 January, 2016.
6. Hutson, A.M., Kingston, T., James, D.,Lumsden, L., Molur, S. & Srinivasulu, C. (2008). Pteropus melanotus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
7. L. Lumsden & M. Schulz (2008). Crocidura trichura. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
8. Lamoreux, J. (2009). "Rattus macleari". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
9. Lamoreux, J. (2008). Rattus nativitatis. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
10. Wyatt KB, Campos PF, Gilbert MTP, Kolokotronis S-O, Hynes WH, DeSalle R, et al. (2008) Historical Mammal Extinction on Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) Correlates with Introduced Infectious Disease PLoS ONE, 3(11): e3602. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003602.
11. Amori, G., Hutterer, R., Kryštufek, B., Yigit, N., Mitsain, G. & Palomo, L.J. (2008). "Rattus rattus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
12. Musser G, Amori G, Hutterer R, Kryštufek B, Yigit N & Mitsain G (2008). Mus musculus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
13. Ruedas, L., Heaney, L. & Molur, S. (2008). Rattus exulans. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
14. "Christmas Island Local Planning Strategy - Shire of Christmas Island" (pdf). 2015: 1–93. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
15. Jenner M.. 2015. Cetacean Season 2015. Center for Whale Research - Western Australia
16. Creatures
17. "Conservation values in Commonwealth waters of the Christmas and Cocos(Keeling) Island remote Australian territories" (pdf). 2009: 1–222. Retrieved 2016-04-19.

Further reading

• "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Mammals of Christmas Island". 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.