Fauna of Maine

The fauna of Maine include several diverse land and aquatic animal species, especially those common to the North Atlantic Ocean and deciduous forests of North America. Some of these creatures' habitats has been reduced or fully removed.

Mammals

Even-toed ungulates

Deer

The deer of Maine include the moose, caribou, and the white-tailed deer.

Moose

Whales

Large baleen whales

The large baleen whales of Maine include the blue whale, Bryde's whale, finback whale, humpback whale, minke whale, north atlantic right whale, and the sei whale

Large toothed whales

The large toothed whales of Maine include the beluga, beaked whale, false killer whale, grampus, killer whale, northern bottlenose whale, pygmy sperm whale, short-finned pilot whale, sperm whale, and the long-finned pilot whale.

Dolphins and porpoises

Rodents

The rodents of Maine include the North American deermouse, White-footed mouse, meadow jumping mouse, woodland jumping mouse, meadow vole, southern red-backed vole, rock vole, woodland vole, southern bog lemming, northern bog lemming, northern flying squirrel, southern flying squirrel, eastern gray squirrel, and American red squirrel.

Hares, pikas, and rabbits

Rabbits

The rabbits of Maine include the New England cottontail, and the eastern cottontail.

Hares

The hares of Maine include the snowshoe hare.

Carnivores

The carnivores of Maine include the red fox, gray fox, bobcat, Canadian lynx, gray wolf, eastern cougar, coyote, and the American black bear.

Black bear

Bats

The bats of Maine include the eastern pipistrelle, big brown bat, little brown bat, eastern small-footed myotis, northern myotis, eastern red bat, hoary bat, and the silver-haired bat.

Other small mammals

Other small mammals of Maine include species of several different families. These include the following: hairy-tailed mole, star-nosed mole, water shrew, smoky shrew, long-tailed shrew, pygmy shrew, cinereus shrew, and the northern short-tailed shrew.

Mustelids

The various species of weasels include: northern river otter, American mink, long-tailed weasel, ermine or short-tailed weasel, fisher (in New England is known as a fisher cat), and the American marten (Known as pine marten in some areas of New England even though the pine marten is a separate species.).

Other mammals

Muskrat

Other mammals include the red squirrel, eastern gray squirrel, eastern chipmunk, woodchuck, northern raccoon, Virginia opossum, striped skunk, North American porcupine, and the common muskrat.

Birds

Of the many birds in Maine, a small fraction of them are the bald eagle, peregrine falcon, great horned owl, barn owl, barred owl, long-eared owl, great gray owl, northern saw-whet owl, common nighthawk, whip-poor-will, chimney swift, common loon, pied-billed grebe, horned grebe, red-necked grebe, northern fulmar, greater shearwater, sooty shearwater, manx shearwater, Wilson's storm-petrel, Leach's storm-petrel, piping plover, American pipit, Arctic tern, Atlantic puffin, black tern, harlequin duck, razorbill, black-capped chickadee, indigo bunting, scarlet tanager, mallard, wood duck, American black duck, Canada goose, American goldfinch, tufted titmouse, mourning dove, northern goshawk, golden eagle, sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper's hawk, northern harrier, and red-tailed hawk.

Other vertebrates

Others include the leatherback turtle and the Atlantic salmon.

Molluscs

There are 92 species of terrestrial gastropods in Maine.[1]

References

1. Scott M. Martin: Terrestrial Snails and Slugs (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of Maine. Northeastern Naturalist, 2000, 33–88. (abstract)

External links

• Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife