Mammals Around Las Vegas

Mammals Around Las Vegas
Wildlife Around Las Vegas

Although it might look like a wasteland out there, some 70 species of mammals make their home in the deserts and mountains around Las Vegas. Listed below are many of those species. Being a desert, most of the local mammal species conserve water and energy by hiding in cool places or underground during the day and becoming active at night. This makes it hard to see most species and might give a false impression that mammals are rare in the desert.

Photo	Taxonomy	Species
	Order Insectivora: Insectivores Family Soricidae: Shrews	Desert Shrew (Notiosorex crawfordi) Merriam’s Shrew (Sorex merriami) Inyo Shrew (Sorex tenellus)
	Order Chiroptera: Bats Family Vespertilionidae Family Molossidae: Free-tail Bats	Brazilian Free-tailed Bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) Pallid Bat (Antrozous pallidus) Townsend's Big-eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii) Western Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus hesperus) plus about 20 more species!
	Order Lagomorpha Family Leporidae, Bunnies	Desert cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii) Mountain Cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttallii) Species not around Las Vegas: Brush Rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani)
	Order Lagomorpha Family Leporidae, Hares	Black-tailed Jack Rabbit (Lepus californicus)
	Order Lagomorpha Family Ochotonidae, Pika	American Pika (Ochotona princeps)
	Order Rodentia: Rodents Family Castoridae: Beaver	Beaver (Castor canadensis)
	Order Rodentia: Rodents Family Geomyidae, Pocket Gophers	Valley pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae)
	Order Rodentia: Rodents Family Heteromyidae, Pocket Mice	Long-tailed Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus formosus) Desert Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus penicillatus) Spiny Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus spinatus) Little Pocket Mouse (Perognathus longimembris) Great Basin Pocket Mouse (Perognathus parvus)
	Order Rodentia: Rodents Family Heteromyidae, Kangaroo Rats	Merriam's Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys merriami) Chisel-toothed Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys microps) Desert Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys deserti) Ord's Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys ordii) Panamint Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys panamintinus)
	Order Rodentia: Rodents Family Muridae Subfamily Sigmodontinae, Grasshopper Mice	Southern Grasshopper Mouse (Onychomys torridus)
No photo yet.	Order Rodentia: Rodents Family Muridae Subfamily Sigmodontinae, Harvest Mice	Western Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis)
	Order Rodentia: Rodents Family Muridae Subfamily Sigmodontinae, Deer Mice and related species	Deer Mouse (Peromyscus spp.) Cactus Mouse (Peromyscus eremicus) Canyon Mouse (Peromyscus crinitus) Brush Mouse (Peromyscus boylii) Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) Pinyon Mouse (Peromyscus truei) Species not around Las Vegas: Hispid Cotton Rat (Sigmodon hispidus)
	Order Rodentia: Rodents Family Muridae Subfamily Sigmodontinae, Woodrats	Desert Woodrat (Neotoma lepida)
	Order Rodentia: Rodents Family Muridae Subfamily Arvicolinae, Voles	Sagebrush Vole (Lemmiscus curtatus) Species not around Las Vegas: Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus)
	Order Rodentia: Rodents Family Myocastoridae, Nutria	Species not around Las Vegas: Coypu or Nutria (Myocastor coypus)
	Order Rodentia: Rodents Family Muridae Subfamily Murinae, Old-world Mice and Rats	Black Rat (Rattus rattus) Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) House mouse (Mus musculus)
	Order Rodentia: Rodents Family Sciuridae: Squirrels, Ground Squirrels	Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus lateralis) Rock Squirrel (Spermophilus variegatus) Round-tailed Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus tereticaudus) Species not around Las Vegas: California Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus beecheyi) Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris) Belding's Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus beldingi) Black-tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) Utah Prairie Dog (Cynomys parvidens)
	Order Rodentia: Rodents Family Sciuridae: Squirrels, Antelope Squirrels	White-tailed Antelope Squirrel (Ammospermophilus leucurus) Harris' Antelope Squirrel (Ammospermophilus harrisii)
	Order Rodentia: Rodents Family Sciuridae: Squirrels, Chipmunks	Charleston Mountain Chipmunk (Tamias palmeri) Cliff Chipmunk (Tamias dorsalis) Panamint Chipmunk (Tamias panamintinus) Unita Chipmunk (Tamias umbrinus) Species not around Las Vegas: Alpine Chipmunk (Tamias alpinus) Hopi Chipmunk (Tamias rufus) Least Chipmunk (Tamias minimus) Lodgepole Chipmunk (Tamias speciosus) Olympic Chipmunk (Tamias amoenus caurinus) Siskiyou Chipmunk (Tamias siskiyou) Townsend's Chipmunk (Tamias townsendii) Yellow-pine Chipmunk (Tamias amoenus)
	Order Rodentia: Rodents Family Sciuridae: Squirrels, Tree Squirrels	Chickaree (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) Species not around Las Vegas: Arizona Gray Squirrel (Sciurus arizonensis) Douglas' Squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii) Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger) Western Gray Squirrel (Sciurus griseus)
	Order Rodentia: Rodents Family Erethizontidae, North American Porcupines	North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsata)
	Order Carnivora: Carnivores Family Canidae, Dogs	Coyote (Canis latrans) Kit Fox (Vulpes velox) Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) Species not around Las Vegas: Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) Mexican Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi)
	Order Carnivora: Carnivores Family Procyonidae, Raccoons	Raccoon (Procyon lotor) Ringtail (Bassariscus astutus) Species not around Las Vegas: White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica)
	Order Carnivora: Carnivores Family Mustelidae, Weasels	Badger (Taxidea taxus) Long-tailed Weasel (Mustela frenata) Northern River Otter (Lontra canadensis) Species not around Las Vegas: Fisher (Martes pennanti) Martin (Martes americana)
	Order Carnivora: Carnivores Family Mustelidae, Skunks	Western Spotted Skunk (Spilogale gracilis) Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis)
	Order Carnivora: Carnivores Family Felidae, Cats	Bobcat (Lynx rufus) Mountain Lion (Puma concolor) Feral Domestic Cat (Felis domesticus) Species not around Las Vegas: Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis)
	Order Carnivora: Carnivores Family Ursidae (Bears)	Species not around Las Vegas: Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) Black Bear (Ursus americanus)
	Order Carnivora: Carnivores Family Phocidae (Hair Seals, or Earless Seals)	Species not around Las Vegas: Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina)
	Order Carnivora: Carnivores Family Otariidae (Eared Seals)	Species not around Las Vegas: California Sea Lion (Zalophus californicus) Steller Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus)
	Order Perissodactyla Family Equidae Odd-toed Ungulates, Horses	Feral Horse (Equus caballus) Feral ass (Equus asinus)
	Order Artiodactyla Family Cervidae Even-toed Ungulates, Deer	Elk (Wapiti) (Cervus elaphus) Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginiana)
	Order Artiodactyla Family Antilocapridae Even-toed Ungulates, Pronghorn	Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana)
	Order Artiodactyla Family Bovidae Even-toed Ungulates, Sheep	Desert Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis) American Bison (Bison bison) Domestic Cattle (Bos taurus) Species not around Las Vegas: Dall's Sheep (Ovis dalli) Domestic Sheep (Ovis aries) Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americanus)

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