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List of mammals of Libya

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Libya. There are ninety-seven mammal species in Libya, of which three are critically endangered, one is endangered, five are vulnerable, and one is near threatened. Two of the species listed for Libya can no longer be found in the wild.[1]

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature:

EX Extinct No reasonable doubt that the 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.
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.

Order: Macroscelidea (elephant shrews)

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Often called sengi, the elephant shrews or jumping shrews are native to southern Africa. Their common English name derives from their elongated flexible snout and their resemblance to the true shrews.

Order: Hyracoidea (hyraxes)

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Cape hyrax

The hyraxes are any of four species of fairly small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. About the size of a domestic cat they are well-furred, with rounded bodies and a stumpy tail. They are native to Africa and the Middle East.

Order: Proboscidea (elephants)

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African bush elephant

The elephants comprise three living species and are the largest living land animals.

Order: Primates

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Barbary macaque

The order Primates contains humans and their closest relatives: lemurs, lorisoids, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes.

Order: Rodentia (rodents)

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Crested porcupine
Barbary ground squirrel
Asian garden dormouse

Rodents make up the largest order of mammals, with over 40% of mammalian species. They have two incisors in the upper and lower jaw which grow continually and must be kept short by gnawing.

Order: Lagomorpha (lagomorphs)

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The lagomorphs comprise two families, Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and Ochotonidae (pikas). Though they can resemble rodents, and were classified as a superfamily in that order until the early 20th century, they have since been considered a separate order. They differ from rodents in a number of physical characteristics, such as having four incisors in the upper jaw rather than two.

Order: Erinaceomorpha (hedgehogs and gymnures)

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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)

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

Order: Chiroptera (bats)

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Serotine bat
Greater noctule bat

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

Order: Cetacea (whales)

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Rough-toothed 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.[4]

Order: Carnivora (carnivorans)

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African wildcat
Fennec
African golden wolf

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

Order: Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates)

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Dama gazelle
Addax

The even-toed ungulates are ungulates whose 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.

Locally extinct

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The following species are locally extinct in the country:

See also

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Notes

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  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. ^ Cherry, D. (1998). Frontier and Society in Roman North Africa. Clarendon Press. p. 291. ISBN 0-19-815235-3.
  3. ^ Benda, P. (2017). "Rhinopoma cystops". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T82345555A82345569.
  4. ^ Update on the Cetacean Fauna of the Mediterranean Levantine Basin
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Are humpback whales electing the Mediterranean Sea as new residence?
  7. ^ 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). Diversity and Distributions. 21 (8): 925–937. Bibcode:2015DivDi..21..925M. doi:10.1111/ddi.12314. S2CID 53593157. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  8. ^ Belbachir, F. (2008). "Acinonyx jubatus ssp. hecki". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T221A13035738.
  9. ^ Ghoddousi, A.; Belbachir, F.; Durant, S.M.; Herbst, M. & Rosen, T. (2022). "Felis lybica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T131299383A154907281. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T131299383A154907281.en.
  10. ^ Stein, A.B.; Athreya, V.; Gerngross, P.; Balme, G.; Henschel, P.; Karanth, U.; Miquelle, D.; Rostro-Garcia, S.; Kamler, J. F.; Laguardia, A.; Khorozyan, I. & Ghoddousi, A. (2020). "Panthera pardus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T15954A163991139.
  11. ^ IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2017). "Gazella dorcas". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T8969A50186334.
  12. ^ IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2016). "Gazella leptoceros". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T8972A50186909.
  13. ^ Bauer, H.; Packer, C.; Funston, P. F.; Henschel, P. & Nowell, K. (2016). "Panthera leo". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T15951A115130419.
  14. ^ McLellan, B. N.; Proctor, M. F.; Huber, D. & Michel, S. (2017). "Ursus arctos". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T41688A121229971.

References

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