List of mammals of French Polynesia

This is a list of the mammal species recorded in French Polynesia. There are twelve mammal species in French Polynesia, of which none are critically endangered, two are endangered, one is vulnerable, and none are near-threatened.^[1]

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the IUCN:

EX	Extinct	No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
EW	Extinct in the wild	Known only to survive in captivity or as a naturalized populations well outside its previous range.
CR	Critically Endangered	The species is in imminent risk of extinction in the wild.
EN	Endangered	The species is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
VU	Vulnerable	The species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
NT	Near Threatened	The species does not meet any of the criteria that would categorise it as risking extinction but it is likely to do so in the future.
LC	Least Concern	There are no current identifiable risks to the species.
DD	Data Deficient	There is inadequate information to make an assessment of the risks to this species.

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:

LR/cd	Lower Risk/conservation dependent	Species which were the focus of conservation programmes and may have moved into a higher risk category if that programme was discontinued.
LR/nt	Lower Risk/near threatened	Species which are close to being classified as Vulnerable but are not the subject of conservation programmes.
LR/lc	Lower Risk/least concern	Species for which there are no identifiable risks.

Subclass: Theria

Infraclass: Eutheria

Order: Cetacea (whales)

Bryde's Whale

Melon-headed Whale

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
      - Minke Whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata LR/nt
      - Bryde's Whale Balaenoptera edeni DD
      - Blue Whale Balaenoptera musculus EN
      - Fin Whale Balaenoptera physalus EN
Suborder: Odontoceti
- Superfamily: Platanistoidea
  - Family: Physeteridae
    - Genus: Physeter
      - Sperm Whale Physeter macrocephalus VU
  - Family: Kogiidae
    - Genus: Kogia
      - Dwarf Sperm Whale Kogia sima LR/lc
  - Family: Ziphidae
    - Subfamily: Hyperoodontinae
      - Genus: Mesoplodon
        Ginkgo-toothed Beaked Whale Mesoplodon ginkgodens DD
  - Family: Delphinidae (marine dolphins)
    - Genus: Steno
      - Rough-toothed Dolphin Steno bredanensis DD
    - Genus: Stenella
      - Spinner Dolphin Stenella longirostris LR/cd
    - Genus: Lagenodelphis
      - Fraser's Dolphin Lagenodelphis hosei DD
    - Genus: Peponocephala
      - Melon-headed Whale Peponocephala electra LR/lc
    - Genus: Feresa
      - Pygmy Killer Whale Feresa attenuata DD

Notes

↑ This list is derived from the IUCN Red List which lists species of mammals and includes those mammals that have recently been classified as extinct (since 1500 AD). The taxonomy and naming of the individual species is based on those used in existing Wikipedia articles as of 21 May 2007 and supplemented by the common names and taxonomy from the IUCN, Smithsonian Institution, or University of Michigan where no Wikipedia article was available.

References

"The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Mammals of French Polynesia". 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.