View source for Physical World/Mammals - 3

{| class="wikitable"
|
|'''Caracal'''


''Caracal  caracal'' 

Sometimes  called the desert lynx or African lynx, but it is not a member of the ''Lynx''  genus


The most  distinctive feature of the caracal is the long black tufts on the back of the  ears
|-
|
|'''Bobcat'''


''Lynx rufus'' 

Ranges from  southern Canada to central Mexico


It has  distinctive black bars on its forelegs and a black-tipped, stubby tail, from  which it derives its name
|-
|
|'''Ocelot'''


''Leopardus pardalis'' 

Also known as  the dwarf leopard


Distributed  extensively within South America


Similar in  appearance to a domestic cat. Its fur resembles that of a clouded leopard or jaguar
|-
|
|'''Margay'''


''Leopardus wiedii'' 

Also known as  the tree ocelot


Similar to  the larger ocelot in appearance, although the head is a little shorter, the  eyes larger, and the tail and legs longer
|-
|
|'''Serval'''


''Leptailurus  serval''


A  medium-sized African wild cat native to sub-Saharan Africa


Servals have the longest legs of any cat,  relative to their body size
|-
|
|'''Aardwolf'''


''Proteles cristata'' 

A small, insectivorous hyena-like mammal,  native to Eastern and Southern Africa


Second animal in the dictionary, after  aardvark
|-
|
|'''Fossa'''


''Cryptoprocta ferox'' 

A cat-like,  carnivorous mammal endemic to Madagascar. Resembles a small cougar


The largest  mammalian carnivore on the island of Madagascar


|-
|
|'''Meerkat'''


''Suricata  suricatta'' 

Meerkats are members of the mongoose family native to Botswana,  Namibia, and South Africa


Meerkats  forage in a group with one "sentry" on guard watching for predators  while the others search for food and "Compare The Market”
|-
|
|'''Tapir'''


genus ''Tapirus'' 

Brazilian, Malayan,  Baird's – species of tapir


Tapirs  inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeastern  Asia
|-
|
|'''Przewalski's Horse'''


''Equus ferus przewalskii''


Native to the  steppes of central Asia, notably Mongolia


The horse is  named after the Russian colonel Nikolai Przhevalsky (the name is of Polish  origin and "Przewalski" is the Polish spelling), who first  described the horse in 1881
|-
|
|'''Onager'''


''Equus hemionus'' 

Also known as  hemione or Asiatic wild ass


Onagers have  never been domesticated. They are among the fastest mammals


There is a  Roman siege engine called an onager
|-
|
|'''Peccary'''


family Tayassuidae (New World pigs)


Also known as skunk pig


Native to the  Americas
|-
|
|'''Chevrotain'''


family Tragulidae


Also known as mouse-deer


Chevrotain is French for "little  goat"


Java mouse-deer is world’s smallest hoofed  mammal
|-
|
|'''Pudu'''


genus ''Pudu''


Northern,  southern – species of pudu


Inhabits  temperate rainforests in South America


The world's  smallest deer
|-
|
|'''Muntjac'''


genus ''Muntiacus'' 

Also known as barking deer


Muntjacs are  the oldest known deer. The present-day species are native to South Asia


A large feral  population of muntjacs exists in England
|-
|
|'''Père  David's deer'''


''Elaphurus davidianus'' 

Native to the  subtropics of China


First made known to Western science in the  19th century, by Father Armand David, a French missionary working in China. The  current world population, now found in zoos around the world, stems from a  herd Woburn Abbey nurtured by the 11th Duke of Bedford
|-
|
|'''Pronghorn'''


''Antilocapra  americana'' 

Though not an  antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the prong buck or pronghorn antelope


Fastest land  mammal in the Western Hemisphere
|-
|
|'''Gaur'''


''Bos gaurus''


Also known as  Indian bison


Largest  extant bovine, native to South Asia and Southeast Asia
|-
|
|'''Muskox'''


''Ovibos moschatus'' 

Arctic mammal  of the family Bovidae noted for its thick coat and for the strong odour  emitted during the seasonal rut by males, from which its name derives
|-
|
|'''Chamois'''


''Rupicapra rupicapra''


A goat-antelope species native to  mountains in Europe. The chamois has also been introduced to the South  Island of New Zealand


Chamois leather is traditionally made from  the hide of the chamois
|-
|
|'''Nilgai'''


''Boselaphus  tragocamelus'' 

Largest Asian antelope


Found  throughout most of India


Mature male appears ox-like and is also  known as the blue bull
|-
|
|'''Bongo'''


''Tragelaphus eurycerus'' 

Large African  forest antelope


Bongos are characterised by a striking  reddish-brown coat, black and white markings, white-yellow stripes and long  slightly spiraled horns
|-
|
|'''Grey rhebok'''


''Pelea  capreolus'' 

Antelope endemic  to Southern Africa


The  Afrikaans/Dutch spelling of the species, reebok, lends its name to the sportswear manufacturing company
|-
|
|'''Wildebeest'''


genus ''Connochaetes''


Two species,  both native to Africa: the black wildebeest, or white-tailed gnu; and the blue  wildebeest, or brindled gnu


Blue  wildebeest are known for their long distance migrations
|-
|
|'''Klipspringer'''


''Oreotragus  oreotragus''


Small species  of African antelope


Klipspringer means "rock  jumper" in Afrikaans


They are around 1.5 m tall and can jump 10  times their own body height
|-
|
|'''Giraffe'''


''Giraffa camelopardalis'' 

Tallest living terrestrial animal and the  largest ruminant


Heart of a  giraffe has to generate around  double the normal blood pressure for a large mammal in order to maintain  blood flow to the brain against gravity. Giraffe has seven neck (cervical)  vertebrae, the same as a human
|-
|
|'''Okapi'''


''Okapia johnstoni'' 

The okapi and  the giraffe are the only living members of the family Giraffidae


Named in  recognition of the British Governor of Uganda, Sir Harry Johnston, who first  acquired an okapi specimen for science
|-
|
|'''Alpaca'''


''Vicugna pacos'' 

A domesticated  species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in appearance


Alpaca fleece  is a lustrous and silky natural fibre
|-
|
|'''Vicuna'''


''Vicugna  vicugna'' 

Believed to  be the wild ancestor of domesticated alpacas


Vicunas  produce small amounts of extremely fine wool, which is very expensive


Vicuna is  smaller than the guanaco
|-
|
|'''Guanaco'''


''Lama  guanicoe'' 

Native to the  arid, mountainous regions of South America


The guanaco's  soft wool is valued second only to that of the vicuna
|-
|
|'''Blue whale'''


''Balaenoptera  musculus'' 

At 30 metres  in length and 180 tonnes in weight, it is the largest extant animal and is  the heaviest known to have existed


Herman  Melville called the blue whale "sulphur-bottom" in ''Moby-Dick''
|-
|
|'''Bowhead whale'''


''Balaena mysticetus'' 

Also known as  the Greenland right whale or Arctic whale


Does not have  a dorsal fin. Named after its  arching lower jaw. Its baleen is the longest of any whale at 3 metres
|-
|
|'''Narwhal'''


''Monodon  monoceros'' 

Toothed whale  that possesses a large "tusk" from a protruding canine tooth.  Narwhal tusks were believed to be the horns from the legendary unicorn


It lives  year-round in the Arctic waters
|-
|
|'''Beluga whale'''


''Delphinapterus leucas'' 

Also known as white whale, or sea canary due  to its high-pitched twitter


Lives in the  Arctic. It is  entirely white as an adult
|-
|
|'''Sperm whale'''


''Physeter  macrocephalus'' 

Also known as cachelot


The largest  of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It has the largest  brain of any animal

The head of  the whale contains a liquid wax called spermaceti, from which the whale  derives its name
|-
|
|'''Killer whale'''


''Orcinus  orca'' 

Also known as orca, blackfish, or grampus


A toothed  whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest  member
|-
|
|'''Vacuita'''


''Phocoena  sinus'' 

A rare  species of porpoise endemic to the Gulf of California. Smallest cetacean


Porpoises are  small toothed whales that are closely related to oceanic dolphins


|-
|
|'''Elephant seal'''


genus ''Mirounga'' 

Two species – northern and southern


Elephant  seals take their name from the large proboscis of the adult male, which  resembles an elephant's trunk. Southern elephant seal bulls typically reach a  length of 4.9 metres and a weight of 3,000 kg
|-
|
|'''Dugong'''


''Dugong  dugon'' 

Dugong,  together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order  Sirenia


It has a fusiform body (tapered at both  the head and the tail). Dugong is distinguished from the manatees by its  fluked, dolphin-like tail, but also possesses a unique skull and teeth
|-
|
|'''Manatee'''


genus ''Trichecus'' 

Also known as sea cows


Three species – Amazonian, West Indian,  and West African


Manatees have a paddle-shaped tail
|}