List of mammals of the Cook Islands facts for kids

This is a list of the mammal species recorded in the Cook Islands. There are seven mammal species in the Cook Islands, of which one is labelled as being a vulnerable species.

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature:

Order: Chiroptera (bats)

The bats' most distinguishing feature is that their forelimbs are developed as wings, making them the only mammals capable of flight. Bat species account for about 20% of all mammals.

• Family: Pteropodidae (flying foxes, Old World fruit bats)
  • Subfamily: Pteropodinae
    • Genus: Pteropus
      • Insular flying-fox, Pteropus tonganus LR/lc

Order: Cetacea (whales)

Spinner dolphins

The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. They are the mammals most fully adapted to aquatic life with a spindle-shaped nearly hairless body, protected by a thick layer of blubber, and forelimbs and tail modified to provide propulsion underwater.

• Suborder: Mysticeti
  • Family: Balaenopteridae
    • Subfamily: Megapterinae
      • Genus: Megaptera
        • Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae VU
• Suborder: Odontoceti
  • Superfamily: Platanistoidea
    • Family: Ziphidae
      • Subfamily: Hyperoodontinae
        • Genus: Mesoplodon
          • Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale, Mesoplodon ginkgodens DD
    • Family: Delphinidae (marine dolphins)
      • Genus: Stenella
        • Spinner dolphin, Stenella longirostris LR/cd
      • Genus: Lagenodelphis
        • Fraser's dolphin, Lagenodelphis hosei DD
      • Genus: Feresa
        • Pygmy killer whale, Feresa attenuata DD

Order: Carnivora (carnivorans)

Leopard seal

There are over 260 species of carnivorans, the majority of which feed primarily on meat. They have a characteristic skull shape and dentition.

• Suborder: Caniformia
  • Family: Phocidae (earless seals)
    • Genus: Hydrurga
      • Leopard seal, Hydrurga leptonyx LR/lc