Mammals
Mammals are the most taxonomically advanced group of animals, comprising the Class Mammalia. They evolved later than other vertebrates, around 300 million years ago. The class consists of about 6,400 species around the world. By far the largest groups of species are the rodents, bats, and moles/shrews.
In North America, the total species number is “only” around 450, and North Carolina has around 125 of these. Our state has a remarkable array of marine mammals, as the state contains both the warm Gulf Stream waters from Cape Hatteras southward and the colder Labrador Current waters off the northern coast. Around 38 species of whales and dolphins, and four seals, yield one of the higher lists of such marine mammals of any state.
Sadly for mammal afficionados, most land mammals are nocturnal, and thus they are difficult for the public to observe and study. Thankfully, in recent years, “trail cams” have become quite popular, and many otherwise secretive species are now being photographed or videotaped on such wildlife cameras. There is also a good handful of biologists who conduct bat mist-netting to obtain distribution and other data on these otherwise very difficult species to observe. Nonetheless, many groups of small mammals, such as rats, mice, and shrews are still “under-studied”, and distribution and abundance data are difficult to obtain, though some pitfall trapping studies over the years have provided good data in small regions of the state.
The Mammals of North Carolina website contains species accounts for all 125-126 species known in the state. In addition, a county range map shows the type of documentation in each county for each species. A state checklist can also be downloaded from the website.