List of mammals of Turkey

The gray wolf, Canis lupus was once widespread throughout the country, but is now found mainly in eastern parts of country which is mountainous and have low population density and pretty cold climate. Central steppes and northern forests also have just few wolves. Wolf sighting in western and southern parts is very rare, but not impossible. It is still considered as a pest and currently being killed with bounties in Turkey at sight. Bounties range from 10 to 3,000 , depending on the animal. Highest known bounty was in 1998 in Sivas, for one lone legend wolf which is blamed for the deaths of 181 heads of livestock, 3 horse foals, 1 mule and 4 guardian dogs in a 3-month period, was 17,500 . The animal was taken after a 40-hour pursuit in mid winter, snowmobiles are also used. Bounties declared annually, with bounty fees and animals wanted dead in total. It is called "canavar" by local cattle farmers, which means "monster" in Turkish. Currently, it is presumed that about 3,000 wolves living in the country. However, 70 years ago, this number was about 14,000-15,000.

This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Turkey. There are 127 mammal species in Turkey, of which 2 are critically endangered, 2 are endangered, 14 are vulnerable, and 3 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 very 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, and does not require protection of any kind.
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: Rodentia (rodents)

Indian porcupine
European ground squirrel
Edible dormouse
Striped field mouse

Rodents make up the largest order of mammals, with over 40 percent of mammalian species. They have two incisors in the upper and lower jaw which grow continually and must be keep short by gnawing. Most rodents are small though the capybara can weigh up to 45 kg (100 lb).

Order: Lagomorpha (rabbits, hares and picas)

Order: Erinaceomorpha (hedgehogs and gymnures)

Long-eared hedgehog

The order Erinaceomorpha contains a single family, Erinaceidae, which comprise the hedgehogs and gymnures. The hedgehogs are easily recognised by their spines while gymnures look more like large rats.

Order: Soricomorpha (shrews, moles, and solenodons)

Lesser white-toothed shrew
Eurasian water shrew
Eurasian pygmy shrew

The "shrew-forms" are insectivorous mammals. The shrews and solenodons closely resemble mice while the moles are stout-bodied burrowers.

Order: Chiroptera (bats)

Daubenton's bat
Serotine bat
Greater noctule bat
Brown long-eared bat

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

Order: Cetacea (whales)

Risso's dolphin

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.

Species listed below also includes species being recorded in Levantine Sea except for gray whale.

Order: Carnivora (carnivorans)

Wildcat
Asiatic lion
European jackal (Canis aureus moreotica), a subspecies of golden jackal. It is very common in Aegean and Mediterranean coasts of country because of wolf's absence, plenty of food and mild climate. In other parts of the country, it is less frequent because of contention and rivalry of larger predators and other stringent conditions. European jackals resembles coyotes in many ways.
European polecat
European otter

There are over 260 species of carnivorans, the majority of which feed primarily on meat. They have a characteristic skull shape and dentition.

Order: Perissodactyla (odd-toed ungulates)

The odd-toed ungulates are browsing and grazing mammals. They are usually large to very large, and have relatively simple stomachs and a large middle toe.

Order: Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates)

Even-toed ungulates' weight is borne about equally by the third and fourth toes, rather than mostly or entirely by the third as in perissodactyls. There are about 220 artiodactyl species, including many that are of great economic importance to humans.

Moose disappeared from Turkey towards the end of the 20th century. They used to inhabit the country's northeastern provinces, mainly Artvin.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 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.
  2. 1 2 Frantzis A., Alexiadou P., Paximadis G., Politi E., Gannier A., Corsini-Foka M. (2003). "Current knowledge of the cetacean fauna of the Greek Seas" (pdf). Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 5(3) (International Whaling Commission): 219–232. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
  3. ↑ Stranding of a minke whale on the eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey.
  4. ↑ Киты в Черном море (cached)
  5. 1 2 Update on the Cetacean Fauna of the Mediterranean Levantine Basin
  6. ↑ Monsarrat S., Pennino G. M., Smith D. T., Reeves R.R., Meynard N. C., Kaplan M. D., Rodrigues L. S. A. (2015). "Historical summer distribution of the endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis): a hypothesis based on environmental preferences of a congeneric species" (pdf). A Journal of Conservation Biogeography - Diversity and Distributions, (Diversity Distrib.) 21: 925–937. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  7. ↑ Mediterranean Whale Spotted off Dead Sea Coast
  8. ↑ 2016. New Publication: New records of Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) from the Turkish Levantine Sea
  9. 1 2 3 Street Boys of the Bosphorus - Dolphins in Istanbul Strait

References

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