This is a list of mammals of the Marshall Islands. There is one land mammal, the

Polynesian rat The Polynesian rat, Pacific rat or little rat (''Rattus exulans''), known to the Māori as ''kiore'', is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. The Polynesian rat originated in Southeast Asia, ...

. There are 27 marine mammals, one of which has been classified as vulnerable, the

humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hu ...

Land animals

The only extant land mammal species aside from humans on the islands is the

(''Rattus exulans'').

Marine mammals

The 27 marine animals consist mostly of whales, dolphins, and porpoises.

Whales

Whales include the

, ginkgo-toothed beaked whale, Blainville's beaked whale,

blue whale The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...

, sei whale,

fin whale The fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus''), also known as finback whale or common rorqual and formerly known as herring whale or razorback whale, is a cetacean belonging to the parvorder of baleen whales. It is the second-longest species of ce ...

, and sperm whale.

Dolphins

Dolphins include the

spinner dolphin The spinner dolphin (''Stenella longirostris'') is a small dolphin found in off-shore tropical waters around the world. It is famous for its acrobatic displays in which it rotates around its longitudinal axis as it leaps through the air. It is a ...

Fraser's dolphin Fraser's dolphin or the Sarawak dolphin (''Lagenodelphis hosei'') is a cetacean in the family Delphinidae found in deep waters in the Pacific Ocean and to a lesser extent in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Taxonomy ''Lagenodelphis hosei'' is spe ...

, long-beaked common dolphin, and

pygmy killer whale The pygmy killer whale (''Feresa attenuata'') is a poorly known and rarely seen oceanic dolphin. It is the only species in the genus ''Feresa''. It derives its common name from sharing some physical characteristics with the orca also known as t ...

Notes

External references

* * * {{Oceania topic, List of mammals of

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...

Mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...