List of mammals of New England

Last updated

New England states are indicated in red Map of USA New England.svg
New England states are indicated in red

There are 7 orders, 17 families, 40 genera, and 60 species represented among the mammals of New England. If extirpated, coastal, introduced, and accidental species are included these numbers increase to 8 orders, 26 families, 67 genera, and 105 species. The region includes the U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

Contents

The makeup and distribution of the mammals in New England are largely the result of the Last Glacial Maximum when the Laurentide Ice Sheet covered virtually the entire region. Recolonization of the area appears to have occurred from one or a few southern glacial refugia. This is in contrast to the multiple glacial refugia present throughout the American West (Stone and Cook, 2000). As a consequence of both the recent uninhabitability and the few sources of recolonization, species diversity for some taxa in parts of New England are lower than in similar areas in other parts of North America. Chipmunks and ground squirrels are exemplars of this situation. New England has one species of each, but numerous locations west of the Rocky Mountains host several species (Hall, 1981).

Habitat varies throughout the region. Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, in the north of the region, have a humid continental short summer climate, with cooler summers and long, cold winters. Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, in the south, have a humid continental long summer climate, with hot summers and cold winters. The average rainfall for most of the region is from 1,000 to 1,500 mm (40 to 60 in) a year, although the northern parts of Vermont and Maine see slightly less, from 500 to 1,000 mm (20 to 40 in). Snowfall can often exceed 2,500 mm (100 in) annually (New England Climate Initiative, 2006). Most mammals in this region exhibit specializations for dealing with the sometimes harsh winter conditions.

A comprehensive listing of all species found in the region follows.

Marsupials

Virginia opossum AwesomePossum-AmericanOpossum.jpg
Virginia opossum

Opossums, family Didelphidae

Insectivores, order Eulipotyphla

Masked shrew MaskedShrew23.jpg
Masked shrew

Shrews, family Soricidae

Moles, family Talpidae

Bats, order Chiroptera

Vesper bats, family Vespertilionidae

Lagomorphs, order Lagomorpha

Eastern cottontail Ecottontail.jpg
Eastern cottontail

Rabbits and hares, family Leporidae

Rodents, order Rodentia

Squirrels, chipmunks, and marmots, family Sciuridae

Beavers, family Castoridae

American beaver Castor canadensis.jpg
American beaver

Jumping mice, family Dipodidae

White-footed mouse White.footed.mouse.with.sucklings.jpg
White-footed mouse

New World rats and mice, voles, lemmings, and muskrats, family Cricetidae

Old World rats and mice, family Muridae (introduced)

Porcupines, family Erethizontidae

North American porcupine Porcupine NPS11952.jpg
North American porcupine

Carnivores, order Carnivora

Dogs, family Canidae

Bears, family Ursidae

Seals, family Phocidae (coastal)

Walrus, family Odobenidae

Raccoons, family Procyonidae

Weasels, minks, martens, fishers, and otters, family Mustelidae

Skunks, family Mephitidae

Striped skunk Striped skunk.jpg
Striped skunk

Family Felidae

Even-toed ungulates and whales, order Cetartiodactyla

Deer and moose, family Cervidae

Bovids, family Bovidae

Right whales, family Balaenidae (coastal)

Rorquals, family Balaenopteridae (coastal)

Sperm whales, family Physeteridae (pelagic)

Beaked whales, family Ziphiidae (pelagic)[ citation needed ]

Beluga and Narwhal, family Monodontidae (coastal vagrant)

Dolphins, family Delphinidae (coastal)

Porpoises, family Phocoenidae (coastal)

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Coast of the United States</span> Atlantic coastal region of the United States

The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern United States</span> Geographic region

The Eastern United States, often abbreviated as simply The East or The East Coast, is a region of the United States located east of the Mississippi River. It includes 26 states and the national capital of Washington, D.C.

The Yankee Conference was a collegiate sports conference in the eastern United States. From 1947 to 1976, it sponsored competition in many sports, but was a football-only league from mid-1976 until its dissolution in 1996. It is essentially the ancestor of today's CAA Football, the legally separate football league operated by the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), and the continuation of the New England Conference, though all three leagues were founded under different charters and are considered separate conferences by the NCAA. Also, CAA Football does not recognize the New England Conference as one of its predecessors, though it does recognize the Yankee Conference as such.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New England road marking system</span> Regional Road Network

The New England road marking system was a regional system of marked numbered routes in the six-state region of New England in the United States. The routes were marked by a yellow rectangular sign with black numbers and border. Many signs were painted on telephone poles. The routes were approved by the highway departments of the six New England states in April 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Verizon New England</span> Bell Operating Company in the Northeast US

Verizon New England, Inc. was a Bell Operating Company that once covered most of New England but most recently only served most of Massachusetts and all of Rhode Island. It was formerly New England Telephone and Telegraph Company, more commonly known as New England Telephone, which for seven decades served most of the New England area of the United States as a part of the original AT&T. New England Telephone's original coverage area included Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont as well as Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Verizon has sold off service in the northern three states, which as of 2020 were served by Consolidated Communications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New England town</span> Basic unit of local government in the six New England states of the United States

The town is the basic unit of local government and local division of state authority in the six New England states. Most other U.S. states lack a direct counterpart to the New England town. New England towns overlay the entire area of a state, similar to civil townships in other states where they exist, but they are fully functioning municipal corporations, possessing powers similar to cities and counties in other states. New Jersey's system of equally powerful townships, boroughs, towns, and cities is the system which is most similar to that of New England. New England towns are often governed by a town meeting legislative body. The great majority of municipal corporations in New England are based on the town model; there, statutory forms based on the concept of a compact populated place are uncommon, though elsewhere in the U.S. they are prevalent. County government in New England states is typically weak at best, and in some states nonexistent. Connecticut, for example, has no county governments, nor does Rhode Island. Both of those states retain counties only as geographic subdivisions with no governmental authority, while Massachusetts has abolished eight of fourteen county governments so far. Counties serve mostly as dividing lines for the states' judicial systems and some other state services in the southern New England states, while providing varying services in the more sparsely populated three northern New England states.

New England English is, collectively, the various distinct dialects and varieties of American English originating in the New England area. Most of eastern and central New England once spoke the "Yankee dialect", some of whose accent features still remain in Eastern New England today, such as "R-dropping". Accordingly, one linguistic division of New England is into Eastern versus Western New England English, as defined in the 1939 Linguistic Atlas of New England and the 2006 Atlas of North American English (ANAE). The ANAE further argues for a division between Northern versus Southern New England English, especially on the basis of the cot–caught merger and fronting. The ANAE also categorizes the strongest differentiated New England accents into four combinations of the above dichotomies, simply defined as follows:

Three popular American sports were invented in New England. Basketball was invented by James Naismith, a Canadian, in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891. Volleyball was invented by William G. Morgan in Holyoke, Massachusetts, in 1895. Paintball was invented in 1981 in Henniker, New Hampshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New England–Acadian forests</span> Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregion of Canada and the United States

The New England-Acadian forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregion in North America that includes a variety of habitats on the hills, mountains and plateaus of New England and New York State in the Northeastern United States, and Quebec and the Maritime Provinces of Eastern Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New England cottontail</span> Species of mammal

The New England cottontail, also called the gray rabbit, brush rabbit, wood hare, wood rabbit, or cooney, is a species of cottontail rabbit represented by fragmented populations in areas of New England, specifically from southern Maine to southern New York. This species bears a close resemblance to the eastern cottontail, which has been introduced in much of the New England cottontail home range. The eastern cottontail is now more common in it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New England</span> Region in the Northeastern United States

New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick to the northeast and Quebec to the north. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east and southeast, and Long Island Sound is to the southwest. Boston is New England's largest city, as well as the capital of Massachusetts. Greater Boston is the largest metropolitan area, with nearly a third of New England's population; this area includes Worcester, Massachusetts, Manchester, New Hampshire, and Providence, Rhode Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of New England</span> Demographics of the US region

According to the 2018 American Community Survey, New England had an estimated population of 14,853,290, of which 48.7% were male and 51.3% were female. Approximately 19.7% of the population were under 18 years of age; 17.4% were 65 years of age or over.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mammals of Olympic National Park</span>

There are at least 9 large terrestrial mammals, 50 small mammals, and 14 marine mammal species known to occur in Olympic National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate of New England</span> Overview of the climate of New England

The climate of New England varies greatly across its 500-mile (800 km) span from northern Maine to southern Connecticut.

New England is far from the center of the country, is relatively small, and is relatively densely populated. It was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States as well as being one of the first regions to experience deindustrialization. Today, it is the center of education, research, high technology, finance, and medicine.

The culture of New England comprises a shared heritage and culture primarily shaped by its indigenous peoples, early English colonists, and waves of immigration from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. In contrast to other American regions, most of New England's earliest Puritan settlers came from eastern England, contributing to New England's distinctive accents, foods, customs, and social structures.

Transportation in New England encompasses the region's rail and highway networks, seaports, and airports. New England has one of the United States' oldest intercity transportation systems, which remain important to the region's economy. It is also home to the continent's first subway system. The densely populated area has many cities and towns connected by rail and road, and the larger cities each have commercial airports with daily flights to destinations outside of the region.

References

  1. Matthew, LaRoche. "Where did the Caribou go?" (PDF).
  2. "American Bison". National Wildlife Federation. Retrieved 2021-07-02.
  3. Aune, K., Jørgensen, D. & Gates, C. 2017. Bison bison (errata version published in 2018). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T2815A123789863. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T2815A45156541.en. Downloaded on 07 July 2021.

Bibliography