Trisha Shetty (Editor)

List of mammals of Kiribati

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List of mammals of Kiribati

This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Kiribati. There are 7 mammal species in Kiribati, all of which are marine mammals in the order Cetacea. None are thought to be at risk, but some have insufficient data collected on them to allow an assessment to be made.

The marine mammals of the order Cetacea that have been identified in the Pacific is described in the literature review by Miller (2006) and by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme(SPREP). A revision of the list of cetaceans reported in the ocean surrounding the islands of Kiribati was carried by Miller (2009),

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the IUCN:

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:

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.

Lack of studies and dedicated observation efforts result in poor understanding of cetacean diversities in the region.

  • Suborder: Mysticeti
  • Family: Balaenidae
  • Genus: Eubalaena
  • Southern right whale, Eubalaena australis LR/cd
  • Suborder: Odontoceti
  • Family: Physeteridae
  • Genus: Physeter
  • Sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus VU
  • Superfamily: Platanistoidea
  • Family: Kogiidae
  • Genus: Kogia
  • Dwarf Sperm Whale Kogia sima LR/lc
  • Family: Ziphidae
  • Subfamily: Hyperoodontinae
  • Genus: Hyperoodon
  • Southern bottlenose whale, Hyperoodon planifrons LR/cd
  • Genus: Mesoplodon
  • Blainville's Beaked Whale Mesoplodon densirostris DD
  • Ginkgo-toothed Beaked Whale Mesoplodon ginkgodens DD
  • Deraniyagala's beaked whale Mesoplodon hotaula DD
  • Family: Delphinidae (marine dolphins)
  • Genus: Steno
  • Rough-toothed Dolphin Steno bredanensis DD
  • Genus: Stenella
  • Spinner Dolphin Stenella longirostris LR/cd
  • Genus: Lagenodelphis
  • Fraser's Dolphin Lagenodelphis hosei DD
  • Genus: Globicephala
  • Short-finned pilot whale, Globicephala macrorhynchus LR/cd
  • Genus: Feresa
  • Pygmy Killer Whale Feresa attenuata DD
  • Genus: Orcinus
  • Orca, Orcinus orca LR/cd
  • References

    List of mammals of Kiribati Wikipedia