An Introduction to British Mammal

An Introduction to Mammals of the Dales (The Presentation slides) Taxonomy & Classification

• Body hair • 3 middle ear bones • Mammary glands

Eutheria

Animalia Chordata Mammalia Metatheria

Prototheria Eutheria

Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Insectivora Lagomorpha Perissodactyla Pinnipedia Rodentia

Artiodactyla - Deer

Family Cervidae • Red Deer Cervus elaphus • Sika Deer Cervus nippon • Fallow Deer Dama dama • Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus • Muntjac Muntiacus reevesi • Chinese Water Deer Hydropotes inermis © denovich

• Shoulder height: 63 – 69cm • Weight: 18 - 27kg • Sandy/ reddish brown coat, grey-brown in winter • Native and widespread • Rut: Mid-July to mid-August • Habitat: Mostly woodland and scrub with vegetated Wild Boar Sus scrofa

• Wildcat Felis silvestris • Fox Vulpes vulpes • Stoat Mustela erminea • Weasel Mustela nivalis • Polecat Mustela putorius • American Mink Mustela vison • Pine Marten Martes martes • Badger Meles meles • Otter Lutra lutra Otter Vulpes vulpes Family Canidae • Male marginally larger than female • Widespread and adaptable • Opportunistic omnivore • High mortality in the young • Food cached when plentiful • Essentially but not exclusively nocturnal • Territorial Fox Vulpes vulpes Family Canidae • Male marginally larger than female • Widespread and adaptable • Opportunistic omnivore • High mortality in the young © jans canon • Food cached when plentiful • Essentially but not exclusively nocturnal • Territorial Stoat Mustela erminea Family Mustelidae • Body length 18-30cm • Weight 100-400g • White coat only found in North range • Black tail tip, rich orange- brown fur © [email protected] • Exclusively carnivorous • Wide range of habitats • Delayed implantation (summer mating, spring © The Bone Collector births) Weasel Mustela nivalis Family Mustelidae • Body length 18-30cm • Weight 35-55g • Orange-brown fur, complete on tail • Exclusively carnivorous • Wide range of habitats © big-ashb • No delayed implantation Badger Meles meles Family Mustelidae • Coarse hair, white at top and bottom • Prefer mosaic of habitats • Widely distributed, less numerous in East Anglia and far north © Tim Brookes • Omnivorous opportunistic hunters • Nocturnal social animals • Delayed implantation (late winter/ spring mating, Jan – Feb birth) Cetacea - Whales & Dolphins Balaenoptidae Physeteridae • Minke Whale • Sperm Whale • Blue Whale Delphinidae • North Atlantic Right Whale • Killer Whale • Bowhwead Whale • False Killer Whale • Fin Whale • Risso’s Dolphin • Sei Whale • Long-finned Pilot Whale • Humpback Whale • Common Dolphin Ziphidae • Bottle Nosed Dolphin • Northern Bottlenose Whale • White-beaked Dolphin • Cuvier’s Beaked Whale • Atlantic White-sided Dolphin • Sowerby’s Beaked Whale • Striped Dolphin Kogiidae Monodontidae • Pygmy Sperm Whale • Beluga • Dwarf Sperm Whale Phocoenidae • Harbour Porpoise Chiroptera - Bats Vespertilonidae • Alcathoe Bat • Nathusius Pipistrelle Bat • Whiskered Bat • Barbastelle Bat • Brandt’s Bat • Brown Long-eared Bat • Bechstein’s Bat • Grey Long-eared Bat • Daubenton’s Bat • Greater Mouse-eared Bat • Natterer’s Bat Rhinophidae • Serotine Bat • Greater Horseshoe Bat • Leisler’s Bat • Lesser Horseshoe Bat • Noctule Bat • Common Pipistrelle Bat • Soprano Pipistrelle Bat Chiroptera - Bats

• Common Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus • Soprano Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pygmaeus • Nathusius’ Pipistrelle Pipistrellus nathusii

• Natterer’s Bat Myotis nattereri

© Ján Svetlík Chiroptera - Bats © Manuel • Brandt’s Bat Myotis brandtii Ruedi • Whiskered Bat Myotis mystacinus • Alcathoe Bat Myotis alcathoe • Noctule Nyctalus noctula • Leisler’s Bat Nyctalus leisleri

© Giles San Martin © wolf359 Chiroptera - Bats Vespertilonidae • Alcathoe Bat • Nathusius Pipistrelle Bat • Whiskered Bat • Barbastelle Bat • Brandt’s Bat • Brown Long-eared Bat • Bechstein’s Bat • Grey Long-eared Bat • Daubenton’s Bat • Greater Mouse-eared Bat • Natterer’s Bat Rhinophidae • Serotine Bat • Greater Horseshoe Bat • Leisler’s Bat • Lesser Horseshoe Bat • Noctule Bat • Common Pipistrelle Bat • Soprano Pipistrelle Bat Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus

Family Erinaceidae • Distinctive and unique amongst British mammals • Loud feeders, high pitched squeal in distress • Able swimmers and climbers • Invading British Islands © Allan Hopkins • Blamed for decline in sea bird populations • Favours mosaic of habitats (higher in gardens & parks) • Suffers from persecution, pesticides and road kills Common Shrew Sorex araneus

Family Soricidae • Body length 5.5-8.5cm • Weight 6-12g • Widespread and numerous • Dense fur with velvety appearance • 3 tone coat with gradual © Kentish Plumber change • Wide range of habitats • Feed on wide range of invertebrates Pygmy Shrew Sorex minutus Family Soricidae • Body length 4-6cm • Weight 3-7g • Smallest British land mammal • Dense 2 tone coat • Extremely widespread • Wide range of habitats © Hornbeam Arts • Active day & night & throughout year • High metabolic rate • Lifespan 14 months • Feed on wide range of invertebrates Water Shrew Neomys fodiens Family Soricidae • Body length 6.5-9.5cm • Weight 10-20g • Clear demarcation between 2 coat colours © Jamie McMillan • Fringe hairs on tail & large back feet • Widespread in mainland Britain, least numerous in Scotland • Preference for aquatic habitats • Wide range of invertebrate prey, including those in water • Forage throughout 24 hours, more active after dark Mole Talpa europaea Family Talpidae • Subterranean • Velvety fur turns in all directions • Broad ‘spade like’ front feet • Almost exclusively underground • Favours meadows, grassland, arable fields & woodlands • Well drained, invertebrate rich soil © Rainbirder • Scarce in acidic soils (reduction in earthworms) • Widespread in mainland Britain (not Ireland) • Population difficult to estimate Lagomorpha - Rabbits & Hares

• Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus • Brown Hare Lepus europaeus • Mountain Hare Lepus timidus Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus • Body Length 35 – 50cm • Weight 1.5 – 2.5kg • Greyish brown fur, pale grey under belly (melanic/ black - occasional only) • Ear tips brown • Introduced by Normans • Widespread where short © a_jo vegetation available • Population estimate 100 million Hare Lepus europaeus • Body Length 50 – 70cm • Weight 2 – 5kg • Introduced in Ion Age • Reddish coloured fur with yellowish flecks • Long black tipped ears • Large powerful hind legs • Can reach 45mph • Widespread and like tender grass shoots

• Fell Pony

• Welsh Mountain Pony • Connemara Pony • New Forest Pony • Exmoor Pony • Dartmoor Pony Pinnipedia - Seals

• Harbour Seal Phoca vitulina

• Grey Seal Halichoerus grypus Rodentia - Rats, Mice & Voles

• Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris • Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis • Hazel Dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius • Edible Dormouse Glis glis • Bank Vole Clethrionomys glareolus • Field Vole Microtus agrestis • Orkney & Guernsey Vole Microtus arvalis • Water Vole Arvicola amphibious • Harvest Mouse Micromys minutus • Wood Mouse Apodemus sylvaticus • Yellow-necked Mouse Apodemus flavicollis • House Mouse Mus domesticus • Brown Rat Rattus norvegicus • Black Rat Rattus rattus • Eurasian Beaver Castor fiber Red squirrel Sciurus vulgaris Family Aplodontidae • Body length 20-25cm • Weight 300-350g • Only native squirrel • Coat typically reddish-brown, often grey on back • Once common in deciduous & mixed woodland • Now restricted to conifer woodland, Scots pine preferred • Isolated populations in mainland Britain • Decline due to habitat destruction & fragmentation, competition from Greys and Parapox virus • Mainly arboreal (will forage on ground) • Feed on nuts, berries, seeds, fungi, birds and shoots Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis Family Aplodontidae • Body length 25-30cm • Weight 450-600g • Grizzled grey coat with brown on back, flanks and legs • Native to North America • Introduced 1876 • Dominant across mainland Britain, restricted in Scotland and Ireland • Highly adaptable diurnal forager, wide range of habitats, caches during winter • Destructive affect on Red Squirrel and Hazel Dormouse Hazel Dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius Family Gliridae • Body length 7-9cm • Weight 15-30g • Thick golden brown coat, paler throat and belly • Plump body, thick hairy tail • Associated with ancient woodland and hedgerows • Strictly arboreal • Specific habitat requirements • Hibernation in underground nests from October - April • Local population widespread across Wales and Central & Eastern England • Essentially nocturnal Bank Vole Clethrionomys glareolus Family Muridae • Body length 9.5-10.5cm • Weight 13-35g • Compact body, reddish-brown fur, paler on the tummy • Widespread and native to England, Wales and lowland Scotland, introduced to Southern Ireland • Occur on several islands (distinct sub species on Skomer C.g.skomerensis, Jersey C.g.caesarius, Mull C.g.alstoni and Raasay C.g.erica) • Use shallow burrows and surface tunnels around the nest • Variety of woodland and scrub habitats • Diet includes plant shoots, leaves, berries, nuts and fungi • Breed from early spring to late autumn, up to 5 litters a year • Infant mortality high Field Vole Microtus agrestis Family Muridae • Body length 9-12cm • Weight 30-40g • Similar appearance to Bank Vole • Very short tail • Prefers grassland habitats, favours undisturbed ground • Occasionally found in hedgerows and woodland margins • Widespread in England, Wales and Scotland, not in Ireland • Use network of concealed surface tunnels and runways • Main food is grass roots • Males distinctly territorial • Population fluctuates greatly throughout year Water vole Arvicola amphibius • Body length 14-22cm • Weight 150 - 300g • Fur can range from light brown to almost black • Ears furry and often unobvious • Widespread, fairly common, legally protected • Semi aquatic almost confined to areas managed for wildlife • Live in a burrow system by slow moving rivers and marshes • Active throughout year • Hold linear territories • Herbivore; grasses, sedges and other waterside vegetation Wood Mouse Apodemus sylvaticus Family Muridae • Body length 9-11cm • Weight 15-30g • Yellowish brown fur with vertebral stripe • Widespread across UK • Found in nearly all habitats except mountain summits and seashore • Mainly solitary, some range overlap and may share nests in winter • Mainly noctunrnal • Good climbers • Opportunistic omnivores House Mouse Mus domesticus Family Muridae • Body length 7-10cm • Weight 10-20g • Quite small ancestor of domestic mouse • Uniform grey-brown coat • Introduced in the Bronze Age, numerous by Roman times • Present in rural locations, thrives alongside human settlements • Prefers sites of food storage over domestic housing • Decline over last 50 years linked to food storage regulations & effective rodenticides • Flexible and adaptable • Aggressively territorial at low densities, aggression declines as densities increase • Active throughout 24hrs where human disturbance is low • Wide ranging diet with preference to stored grains Brown Rat Rattus norvegicus

Family Muridae • Body length 20-27cm • Weight 300-500g • Coarse, mainly brown fur fading to grey on under parts • Scaly appearance to tail • Spread into Europe from far East, first recorded 1720 from ships • Widespread across UK, associated with human settlement • Able climbers and swimmers • Highly adaptable and intelligent omnivores • Live in sizable colonies, less territorial where density is high © Diliff © Frank.Vassen

Additional learning: An Introduction to Owl Pellet Analysis (video) Handout – Owl pellets

Mammal Tracks and Signs (video)