Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Sei Whale
Unlike other rorquals, Sei whales have a dolphin-like dorsal fin. They are also unusual in using two different methods to fill their mouths with water during feeding - they both gulp and skim-feed. Learn more about the Balaenoptera...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Seminole Bat
Seminole bats, sometimes called mahogany bats, can be mistaken for red bats where the two species overlap (the red bat has a much larger range). The two are similar in color, size, and appearance. Learn more about the Lasiurus seminolus,...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Pale Kangaroo Mouse
Most Pale Kangaroo Mice live in high, cold desert in Nevada; there is also a small population in eastern California. They look like small kangaroo rats, and like them, can hop on their large hind feet. Learn more about the Microdipodops...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Southern Plains Woodrat
Southern Plains Woodrats are found in places where grasses, creosotebush, mesquite, and cactus grow. Local populations can reach high levels and then crash. Learn more about the Neotoma micropus, more commonly known as a Southern Plains...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Mearn's Grasshopper Mouse
Grasshopper Mice are adapted to a predatory lifestyle. Their molar teeth have high-cusped shearing surfaces for puncturing and slicing, and their biting strength is increased through enlarged muscle attachments on the lower jaw and...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Merriam's Pocket Mouse
Merriam's Pocket Mice are found in short-grass prairie, desert scrub, and open, arid brushland. They are most common where the vegetation is dense enough to provide them with seeds and some protection from predators, but not so dense...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Texas Mouse
Texas Mice need rocky environments. Where these occur, they are found in cedar glade, juniper-grass, and oak-juniper forests. Learn more about the Peromyscus attwateri, more commonly known as a Texas Mouse, in this easy-to-read species...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Mesquite Mouse
Mesquite Mice live in dense mesquite thickets known as bosques. Although mesquite is the dominant plant in bosques, other desert plants such as palo-verde, prickly pear, and cholla cacti, and grasses, mix with the mesquite. Learn more...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: White Footed Mouse
The White-footed Mouse has a very wide distribution. It is the most abundant rodent in mixed deciduous and coniferous forests in the eastern United States, and is probably equally abundant near farms. Learn more about the Peromyscus...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Northwestern Deermouse
Keen's Deermouse is the most common deermouse in the Pacific Northwest. It inhabits rainy, mild climate zones at higher elevations than the closely-related Deermouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), and prefers areas where the forest canopy is...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Northern Long Eared Myotis
Although the northern long-eared myotis is common and widespread, much remains to be learned about its roosting habits, reproduction, and longevity. This bat is known to hibernate in caves and mines and to roost under tree bark. Learn...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Oldfield Mouse
Oldfield Mice inhabit areas with loamy or sandy soils in the southeastern United States. Newly abandoned fields, where plants such as crabgrass are sprouting, provide good habitat. Learn more about the Peromyscus polionotus, more...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse
Salt-marsh Harvest Mice have a very limited range, they live only in San Francisco Bay's tidal marshes and diked salt marshes and they have very specific habitat requirements. They need dense cover. Learn more about the Reithrodontomys...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Western Harvest Mouse
Western Harvest Mice are adaptable, widespread, and abundant, especially in meadows, prairies, old pastures, stream valleys, and marshes. They eat seeds, insects, and plants. Learn more about the Reithrodontomys megalotis, more commonly...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Prairie Shrew
The Prairie Shrew is small, weighing only 2-5 g, brown, and relatively short-tailed. This species inhabits the northern Great Plains in Canada and the United States. Learn more about the Sorex haydeni, more commonly known as a Prairie...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Long Tailed Shrew
The Long-tailed Shrew probably uses its long tail for balance when it is climbing among the rocks or boulders that are always present where it lives. It spends almost all its time underground, and was, until recently, thought to be...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Narwhal
The narwhal's tusk is a tooth - an upper-jaw tooth that grows through the lip and keeps on growing. Narwhals have just two teeth, both in the upper jaw. Learn more about the Monodon monocerus, more commonly known as a Narwhal, in this...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Long Tailed Weasel
Long-tailed Weasels are voracious predators, foraging day and night for small vertebrates, and scavenging for carrion when necessary. In captivity, adults can consume an amount equal to one-third their own body weight in 24 hours. Learn...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Northern Fur Seal
Northern fur seals breed on islands near Russia, Alaska, and California, but not necessarily on the island where they were born females tagged as pups have been found breeding on other islands. The seals range widely in the North...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Sperm Whale
Sperm whales can dive deeper than 1.6 km and stay under for 90 minutes, although shorter, shallower dives are more usual. Learn more about the Physeter catodon (Physeter macrocephalus), more commonly known as a Sperm Whale, in this...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: North American Water Vole
North American Water Voles can swim and dive, and are always found near water, often near fast-running glacial or spring-fed streams. Captive young Voles swam voluntarily when they were only 17 days old, before they were even weaned....
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Taiga Vole
Taiga Voles eat mostly grass, but include some other plant matter in their diets. They inhabit forest habitats near streams and bogs, using both underground and surface runways. Learn more about the Microtus xanthognathus, more commonly...
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National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Northern Elephant Seal
As is often the case in species where males compete to mate with as many females as possible, northern elephant seal males are much larger than females (1,800 kg versus 650 kg on average). Competitions can be battles, but more often...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Long Legged Myotis
Long-legged myotis typically occupy mountainous or relatively rugged areas. They often live in coniferous forests, although they are sometimes found in oak or streamside woodlands, and even deserts. Learn more about the Myotis volans,...