Mammals of Alabama

DIDELPHIMORPHIA

Family: Didelphidae

Common Name Species Name Status Distribution ASM Slide Library* Mamm. Species # Comments
Virginia opossum Didelphis virginiana common statewide 3, 4(W), 630, 828(B), 829(B), 830(B) 40 Common in all habitats.

SIRENIA

Family: Trichechidae

Common Name Species Name Status Distribution ASM Slide Library* Mamm. Species # Comments
West Indian Manatee Trichechus manatus endangered inland waterways around Mobile Bay 290, 291(CB), 292(A), 1139(S), 1140(S), 1141(S), 1309 93 Rare, but there are regular sightings in late spring, summer, and early autumn.

CINGULATA

Dasypodidae
Common Name Species Name Status Distribution ASM Slide Library* Mamm. Species # Comments
Nine-banded Armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus common statewide 53, 242 162 Common in woodlands, forest edges, savannas, and brushy areas.

PRIMATES

Hominidae
Common Name Species Name Status Distribution ASM Slide Library* Mamm. Species # Comments
Human / Modern Man Homo sapiens common statewide      

RODENTIA

Sciuridae
Common Name Species Name Status Distribution ASM Slide Library* Mamm. Species # Comments
Southern Flying Squirrel Glaucomys volans common statewide 1021, 1022(B) 78 Most common in mature, broad-leaved forests, but also found in coniferous-deciduous woodlands, and urban areas.
Woodchuck Marmota monax uncommon northern two-thirds of Alabama 107 591 Occurs along forest edges and in open fields and pastures near brushy fencerows or other cover.
Eastern Gray Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis common statewide 94, 95(P) 480 Found in hardwood forests, mixed forests, and urban areas.
Eastern Fox Squirrel Sciurus niger common statewide 96, 880 479 Favors mature deciduous and pine-oak woodlands, but also occurs at forest edges and in riparian woodlands.
Eastern Chipmunk Tamias striatus common statewide, except for extreme southwestern and southeastern regions 110, 259(AB) 168 Occupies wooded areas with dense canopy and sparsely covered forest floor, open brushy habitats, ravines, deciduous growth along streams, and urban areas.
Castoridae
Common Name Species Name Status Distribution ASM Slide Library* Mamm. Species # Comments
American Beaver Castor canadensis common statewide 247(H), 248(H), 408, 409(H), 410(H), 1239, 1316(H), 1317(B) 120 All habitats with open water.
Geomyidae
Common Name Species Name Status Distribution ASM Slide Library* Mamm. Species # Comments
Southeastern Pocket Gopher Geomys pinetis uncommon southern one-half of Alabama 1244 86 Usually occurs in dry sandy soils, but may inhabit well-drained, gravelly, upland sites.
Dipodidae
Common Name Species Name Status Distribution ASM Slide Library* Mamm. Species # Comments
Meadow Jumping Mouse Zapus hudsonius rare primarily Piedmont region of northeastern Alabama   11 Occupies variety of habitats with dense vegetation, including overgrown fields and thick vegetation near ponds, marshes, and streams.
Cricetidae
Common Name Species Name Status Distribution ASM Slide Library* Mamm. Species # Comments
Prairie Vole Microtus ochrogaster uncommon north-central Alabama 1160 355 Inhabits areas with dense grasses, such as pastures, roadsides, and edges of fields.
Woodland Vole / Pine Vole Microtus pinetorum common statewide, except for southwestern section   147 Wide range of habitats occupied, including leaf litter, grassy fields with brush and brambles, and beneath mats of dense vegetation.
Eastern Woodrat / Allegheny Woodrat Neotoma floridana / Neotoma magister uncommon Eastern Woodrat (N. floridana) statewide south of the Tennessee River; Allegheny Woodrat (N. magister) north of the Tennessee River 1016 (N. floridana) 139 (N. floridana) N. floridana and N. magister have been considered separate species since the late 1990's**. N. floridana occupies woodland and brushy habitats, is often associated with rocky outcrops, but also occurs in areas with dense vegetation. N. magister is possibly confined to areas with rocky outcrops, crevices, caves, and boulder fields, but also may occupy woodlands and brushy areas.
Golden Mouse Ochrotomys nuttalli common statewide   75 Occupies a variety of habitats, including woodlands, floodplains, borders of fields, and thickets bordering swamps and dense woods.
Common Muskrat Ondatra zibethicus common statewide, except counties bordering Florida Panhandle 1162, 1163(H) 141 Habitats include saline, brackish, and freshwater streams, marshes, ponds, lakes, ditches, and rivers.
Marsh Oryzomys / Marsh Rice Rat Oryzomys palustris common statewide 252 176 Found in wet meadows and dense vegetation near marshes, swamps, streams, ponds, and ditches.
Cotton Deermouse / Cotton Mouse Peromyscus gossypinus common statewide 677, 678(C) 70 Occurs in dense underbrush, bottomland hardwood forests, and a variety of other habitats, including old fields, upland forests, hammocks, and swamps.
White-footed Deermouse / White-footed Mouse Peromyscus leucopus poorly known northern two-thirds of Alabama 73, 251(A), 1174 247 Inhabits woodlands with fallen logs, brush piles, and rocks, and shrubs along fencerows and streams.
Oldfield Deermouse / Oldfield Mouse Peromyscus polionotus common statewide 73, 251(A), 1174 247 Primarily in sandy soiled habitats, including fallow fields with herbaceous vegetation, and along roadsides in agricultural areas. Two subspecies, P. polionotus amobates and P. polionotus trissylepsis, which occur in beach habitat along the Gulf Coast, are endangered.
Eastern Harvest Mouse Reithrodontomys humulis uncommon statewide 685 565 Once common in old fields containing dense stands of weeds and grasses, but may be declining in Alabama.
Hispid Cotton Rat Sigmodon hispidus common statewide 76, 1177 158 Found in grassy areas of fields and along roadways.