Small Mammals of North Dakota

By

Chris Grondahl

State Game and Fish Department
100 North Bismarck Expressway
Bismarck, North Dakota 58501-5095

Introduction

Small mammals are a group of mammals placed into their own category based upon various criteria including how much area they occupy, their overall body size, and the fact that they are not included in either the big game or furbearer category within the state's hunting regulations.

Included in the small mammal category are both game (hunted) species like the squirrel and rabbit and other less well known nongame species including bats, shrews, voles, and ground squirrels.

Many of these species are difficult to observe in the wild because of their size, their habit of moving only at night, or because they live underground or in other hard to reach areas.

This publication is intended to introduce some of the most common small mammals which can be found in North Dakota. You will soon realize that the only species of mouse-sized rodents you may have ever encountered were the common house mice, not even native to this area. It will also be interesting to discover how different the native species are from the house mouse and how different they are from one another.

It was not feasible to describe every small mammal and include a photograph for all of North Dakota's small mammals, therefore a complete checklist of the state's mammals is found on the back pages of this guide. This checklist may also aid in learning how species are divided among families.

Grondahl, Chris.  No Date.  Small Mammals of North Dakota.  
     North Dakota Game and Fish Department, Bismarck, ND.  17pp.

Grondahl, Chris.  No Date.  Small Mammals of North Dakota.  
     North Dakota Game and Fish Department, Bismarck, ND.  
     Jamestown, ND: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Online.
     http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/mammals/mammals/index.htm
     (Version 15AUG97).

Table of Contents

• Family Soricidae -- Shrews
  • Masked Shrew -- Sorex cinereus
  • Short-tailed Shrew -- Blarina brevicauda
• Family Sciuridae -- Squirrels
  • Fox Squirrel -- Sciurus niger
  • Gray Squirrel -- Sciurus carolinensis
  • Red Squirrel -- Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
  • Least Chipmunk -- Eutamias minimus
  • Richardson's Ground Squirrel -- Spermophilus richardsonii
  • Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel -- Spermophilus tridecemlineatus
  • Black-tailed Prairie Dog -- Cynomys ludovicianus
• Family Leporidae -- Hares and Rabbits
  • Eastern Cottontail -- Sylvilagus floridanus
  • White-tailed Jackrabbit -- Lepus townsendii
• Family Geomyidae -- Pocket Gophers
  • Northern Pocket Gopher -- Thomomys talpoides
• Family Heteromyidae -- Heteroymyids
  • Ord's Kangaroo Rat -- Dipodomys ordii
• Family Cricetidae -- New World Rats and Mice
  • Deer Mouse -- Peromyscus maniculatus
  • Bushy-tailed Woodrat -- Neotoma cinerea
  • Meadow Vole -- Microtus pennsylvanicus
• Family Muridae -- Old World Rats and Mice
  • House Mouse -- Mus musculus
  • Norway Rat -- Rattus norvegious
• Family Vespertilionidae -- Bats
  • Little Brown Bat -- Myotis lucifugus
• Checklist of North Dakota Mammals