Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Kearney, Nebraska
As you travel through this area, you will undoubtedly encounter one or more species of terrestrial vertebrates residing here. The following lists contain 10 species of amphibians, 20 species of reptiles, and 53 species of mammals which have been reported in the area. Many of these animals are rare or extremely inconspicuous so your chances of seeing them are slim. You will find that some of these animals have an affinity for roads and are often killed by vehicles. Striped skunk, opossum, raccoon, and white-tailed deer are often seen dead along the highway.
(Adapted from Lynch, J. 1985. Annotated checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Nebraska. Trans. Nebr. Acad. Sci. 8:33-57.)
ORDER MARSUPIALIA STATUS ___ Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) Common
ORDER INSECTIVORA ___ Masked Shrew (Sorex cinereus) Common ___ Northern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda) Common ___ Least Shrew (Cryptotis parva) Uncommon ___ Eastern Mole (Scalopus aquaticus) Fairly common
ORDER CHIROPTERA ___ Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus) Common ___ Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis) Common ___ Hoary Bat (Lasuirus cinereus) Uncommon ___ Brazilian Free-tailed Bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) Rare
ORDER LAGOMORPHA ___ Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) Abundant ___ Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus) Common ___ White-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii) Rare
ORDER RODENTIA ___ Woodchuck (Marmota monax) Rare ___ Franklin's Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus franklinii) Uncommon ___ Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus tridecemlineatus) Abundant ___ Black-tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) Uncommon ___ Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger) Abundant ___ Plains Pocket Gopher (Geomys bursarius) Common ___ Plains Pocket Mouse (Perognathus flavescens) Uncommon ___ Hispid Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus hispidus) Uncommon ___ Ord's Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys ordii) Uncommon ___ Beaver (Castor canadensis) Abundant ___ Western Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis) Common ___ Plains Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys montanus) Uncommon ___ White-footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) Abundant ___ Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) Abundant ___ Northern Grasshopper Mouse (Onychomys leucogaster) Fairly Common ___ Hispid Cotton Rat (Sigmodon hispidus) Rare ___ Eastern Woodrat (Neotoma floridana) Rare ___ Prairie Vole (Microtus ochrogaster) Abundant ___ Meadow Vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) Abundant ___ Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) Abundant ___ Southern Bog Lemming (Synaptomys cooperi) Rare ___ House Mouse (Mus musculus) Abundant ___ Norway Rat (Rattus norvegicus) Common ___ Meadow Jumping Mouse (Zapus hudsonius) Uncommon ___ Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) Rare
ORDER CARNIVORA ___ Coyote (Canis latrans) Abundant ___ Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) Fairly Common ___ Raccoon (Procyon lotor) Abundant ___ Long-tailed Weasel (Mustela frenata) Uncommon ___ Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis) Uncommon ___ Mink (Mustela vison) Common ___ Badger (Taxidea taxus) Fairly Common ___ Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis) Abundant ___ River Otter (Lutra canadensis) Reintroduced ___ Bobcat (Felis rufus) Rare
ORDER ARTIODACTYLA ___ Wapiti (Cervus elaphus) Accidental ___ Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) Common ___ White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) Abundant ___ Moose (Alces alces) Accidental ___ Bison (Bison bison) Extirpated
Mr. Gary R. Lingle
Platte River Whooping Crane Trust
2550 North Diers Avenue, Suite H
Grand Island, Nebraska 68803
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/chekbird/r6/plrwbmam.htm
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Page Last Modified: Friday, 01-Feb-2013 19:01:22 EST
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