The following is a list of largest mammals by family.

Tenrecs and allies (Afrosoricida)

*The largest of these insectivorous mammals is the giant otter shrew (''Potamogale velox''), native to

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Co ...

. This species can weigh up to and measure in total length.

Even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla)

*The largest species in terms of weight is the

hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two exta ...

(''Hippopotamus amphibius''), native to the rivers of sub-Saharan Africa. They can attain a size of , long and tall. Prehistoric hippos such as '' H. gorgops'' and '' H. antiquus'' rivaled or exceeded the modern species as the largest members of the family and order to ever exist. *The longest-bodied species, and tallest of all living land animals, is the

giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, '' Giraffa camelopardal ...

(''Giraffa sp.''), measuring up to tall to the top of the head, and despite being relatively slender, reaching a top weight of . *The largest

extant Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...

representative of the bovids, a diverse and well-known family, is the Asian forest-dwelling

gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ), also known as the Indian bison, is a bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 m ...

(''Bos gaurus''), in which bulls can weigh up to either or , in total length and stand at the shoulder. The

wild yak The wild yak (''Bos mutus'') is a large, wild bovine native to the Himalayas. It is the ancestor of the domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''). Taxonomy The ancestor of the wild and domestic yak is thought to have diverged from '' Bos primigeniu ...

(''B. mutus''), reaching in height, weighing . The living

American bison The American bison (''Bison bison'') is a species of bison native to North America. Sometimes colloquially referred to as American buffalo or simply buffalo (a different clade of bovine), it is one of two extant species of bison, alongside the ...

(''B. bison'') of North America is long, the tail adding . Shoulder heights in the species can range from .Gennady G. Boeskorov, Olga R. Potapova, Albert V. Protopopov, Valery V. Plotnikov, Larry D. Agenbroad, Konstantin S. Kirikov, Innokenty S. Pavlov, Marina V. Shchelchkova, Innocenty N. Belolyubskii, Mikhail D. Tomshin, Rafal Kowalczyk, Sergey P. Davydov, Stanislav D. Kolesov, Alexey N. Tikhonov, Johannes van der Plicht, 2016, The Yukagir Bison: The exterior morphology of a complete frozen mummy of the extinct steppe bison, Bison priscus from the early Holocene of northern Yakutia, Russia, pp.7,

Quaternary International ''Quaternary International'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal on quaternary science published by Elsevier on behalf of the International Union for Quaternary Research. The journal was established in 1989 and covers full spectrum of the physic ...

, Vol.406 (2016 June 25), Part B, pp.94-110 Weights can range from . The European bison (''B. bonasus'') may be less heavy than the American species, but would exceed heights at

withers The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle a ...

with the tallest record of . When raised in captivity and farmed for meat, the bisons can grow unnaturally heavy and the largest semidomestic American bison weighed and the heaviest European bison weighed about .Semenov U.A. of WWF-Russia, 2014, "The Wisents of Karachay-Cherkessia", Proceedings of the

Sochi National Park Sochi National Park (russian: Сочинский национальный парк, also Sochinsky National Park) is Russia's oldest national park, established on May 5, 1983. It is located in the Western Caucasus, near the city of Sochi, in Southe ...

(8), pp.23-24, , KMK Scientific Press The heads and forequarters of American species are massive, and both sexes have short, curved horns that can grow up to long, which they use in fighting for status within the herd and for defense.

Wild water buffalo The wild water buffalo (''Bubalus arnee''), also called Asian buffalo, Asiatic buffalo and wild buffalo, is a large Bovinae, bovine native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as ''Endangered species, Endangered'' i ...

es (''Bubalus arnee'') of Asia are larger and heavier than domestic buffaloes, and weigh from . Their head-to-body-length is with a tail long, and a shoulder height of . Both sexes carry horns that are heavy at the base and widely spreading up to The extinct giant bison (''Bison latifrons'') may be the largest bovid in the fossil record, with an estimated shoulder up to and a weight over . ''

Pelorovis ''Pelorovis'' ("prodigious/monstrous sheep") is an extinct genus of African wild cattle which existed during the Pleistocene epoch.Alan Turner & Mauricio Anton: ''Evolving Eden, An Illustrated Guide to the Evolution of the African Large-Mammal ...

'' also reached 2,000 kg in weight. Domestic cattle (Bos ''taurus'') are usually smaller, although obese steers have been reported to weigh up to . The largest antelope is the

giant eland The giant eland (''Taurotragus derbianus''), also known as the Lord Derby eland and greater eland, is an open-forest and savanna antelope. A species of the family Bovidae and genus ''Taurotragus'', it was described in 1847 by John Edward Gray. T ...

(''Taurotragus derbianus'') from Africa They are typically between in head-and-body length and stand approximately at the shoulder and weigh . *The largest species in the pig family is generally the giant forest hog (''Hylochoerus meinertzhageni''), a native of the African rainforests, at up to , in length and high at the shoulder. Although

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species i ...

s (''Sus scrofa'') have reportedly reached historically, especially the Manchurian subspecies (''Sus scrofa ussuricus'') and obese domestic pigs (''S. domesticus'') which have been weighed at . The largest wild suid to ever exist was ''

Kubanochoerus gigas ''Kubanochoerus'' is an extinct genus of large, long-legged suid artiodactyl mammal from the Miocene of Eurasia and Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about ...

'', having measured up to and stood more than tall at the shoulder. *The largest living

cervid Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindee ...

is the

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

(''Alces alces''), particularly the Alaskan subspecies (''A. a. gigas''), verified at up to , a total length of and a shoulder height of .Wood, Gerald ''The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats'' (1983) The largest deer of all time was the broad-fronted moose ('' Cervalces latifrons''). The extinct Irish elk (''Megaloceros giganteus'') and the stag-moose (''Cervalces scotti'') were of similar size to the Alaskan moose. However, the Irish elk could have antlers spanning up to across, about twice the maximum span for a moose's antlers. *The largest members of the

camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. ...

family are either the

bactrian camel The Bactrian camel (''Camelus bactrianus''), also known as the Mongolian camel or domestic Bactrian camel, is a large even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of Central Asia. It has two humps on its back, in contrast to the single-humped dro ...

(''Camelus bactrianus''), which is still wild in the steppe of central Asia, or the similarly sized

dromedary The dromedary (''Camelus dromedarius'' or ;), also known as the dromedary camel, Arabian camel, or one-humped camel, is a large even-toed ungulate, of the genus '' Camelus'', with one hump on its back. It is the tallest of the three species o ...

(''Camelus dromedarius''), which no longer exists as a purely wild species but is widespread in the Middle East as a domestic animal, with a large introduced feral population in Australia. Both camels can weigh up to , in total length, tall at the shoulder and a height of at the hump. Several giant camels are known from fossils, the previous record holders, '' Gigantocamelus'' and '' Titanotylopus'' from North America, both possibly reached and a shoulder height of over . '' Camelus moreli'', also known as the "Syrian camel", may have been even larger, at an estimated shoulder height of 3.6 or even 4 m (12–13 ft).

Carnivorans (Carnivora)

*The largest carnivoran as well as the largest

pinniped Pinnipeds (pronounced ), commonly known as seals, are a widely distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semiaquatic, mostly marine mammals. They comprise the extant families Odobenidae (whose only living member is the ...

is the

southern elephant seal The southern elephant seal (''Mirounga leonina'') is one of two species of elephant seals. It is the largest member of the clade Pinnipedia and the order Carnivora, as well as the largest extant marine mammal that is not a cetacean. It gets its ...

(''Mirounga leonina''), attaining sizes up to 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) in weight and 6.9 m (23 ft) in length. *The largest living land carnivoran, on average, is the

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear spec ...

(''Ursus maritimus''). It can reach a shoulder height of over and total length of as much as . The heaviest wild polar bear weight recorded was . The

Kodiak bear The Kodiak bear (''Ursus arctos middendorffi''), also known as the Kodiak brown bear, sometimes the Alaskan brown bear, inhabits the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago in southwest Alaska. It is the largest recognized subspecies or population ...

, a

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is k ...

(''U. arctos'') subspecies, rivals the polar bear in size, but is slightly smaller. It has a similar body length with the largest confirmed wild specimen weighing . The largest

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the No ...

, and possibly the largest known mammalian land carnivore of all time, was ''

Arctotherium angustidens ''Arctotherium'' ("''bear beast''") is an extinct genus of the Pleistocene short-faced bears endemic to Central and South America. ''Arctotherium'' migrated from North America to South America during the Great American Interchange, following the ...

''. The largest specimen yet found is estimated to weigh up to and stood up to tall on the hind-limbs *The largest living species of the family

Felidae Felidae () is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a felid (). The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the dom ...

is the

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living Felidae, cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily pr ...

(''Panthera tigris''), with reports of males up to in the wilderness and captivity, respectively. Captive ligers, hybrids between

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...

s (''P. leo'') and tigers, can grow up to non-obese weights over . * Among the largest members of the family Felidae were the extinct

American lion ''Panthera atrox'', better known as the American lion, also called the North American lion, or American cave lion, is an extinct pantherine cat that lived in North America during the Pleistocene epoch and the early Holocene epoch, about 340, ...

, averaging , the sabertooth '' Smilodon populator'', of which the largest males might have exceeded , and sabertooths of genus ''

Adeilosmilus ''Amphimachairodus'' is an extinct genus of large machairodonts. It is also a member of the tribe Homotherini within Machairodontinae and is most closely related to such species as ''Xenosmilus'', ''Homotherium'' itself, and ''Nimravides''. It i ...

'' (e.g., ''A. kabir'', with an estimated mass of . *In the wilderness, the largest living member of

Canidae Canidae (; from Latin, '' canis'', " dog") is a biological family of dog-like carnivorans, colloquially referred to as dogs, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (). There are three subfamilies found withi ...

is the

gray wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

(''Canis lupus''). The largest specimens from the Mackenzie Valley wolf (''C. l. occidentalis'') or the

Eurasian wolf The Eurasian wolf (''Canis lupus lupus''), also known as the common wolf,Mech, L. David (1981), ''The Wolf: The Ecology and Behaviour of an Endangered Species'', University of Minnesota Press, p. 354, is a subspecies of grey wolf native to Euro ...

(''C. l. lupus'') weigh up to and measure up to in total length and tall at the shoulder. Eurasian wolves from the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

n area have even been reported to weigh as much as , though these figures require verification. Domestic dogs however can occasionally grow heavier, up to . *The largest known canid is an extinct member of subfamily Borophaginae, '' Epicyon haydeni''. The largest known specimen of this species weighed an estimated . *The largest and most diverse family of carnivores, the mustelids, reaches their maximum size (by mass) in the

sea otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smal ...

(''Enhydra lutris'') of the North Pacific coasts, at up to , and (by length) the giant otter (''Pteronura brasiliensis'') of the Amazonian rainforests, at up to in total. The largest mustelid to ever exist was likely the odd cat-like '' Ekorus'' from Africa, about the size of a modern

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, ...

and filling a similar ecological niche before big cats came to the continent. Another contender for largest of this family is the wolverine-like ''

Megalictis ''Megalictis'' is an extinct genus of large predatory mustelids that existed in North America during the " cat gap" from the Late Arikareean (Ar4) in the Miocene epoch. It is thought to have resembled a huge ferret, with a body mass of up to . H ...

'', which according to older estimates could have reached the size of a modern black bear. Newer estimates, however, significantly downgrade its size, although, at a maximum weight more than twice that of a wolverine, it is larger than most (if not all) living mustelids. *The largest species in the

mongoose A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to so ...

family is the African white-tailed mongoose (''Ichneumia albicauda''), at up to and long. *The largest species in the viverrid family is the Asian

binturong The binturong (''Arctictis binturong'') (, ), also known as the bearcat, is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. It is uncommon in much of its range, and has been assessed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because of a declining pop ...

(''Arctictis binturong''), at up to and long, about half of which is tail.Kingdon, Jonathan ''Kingdon Guide to African Mammals'' (1993) The largest viverrid known to have existed is '' Viverra leakeyi'', which was around the size of a modern wolf or small leopard at . *The largest modern species in the

hyena Hyenas, or hyaenas (from Ancient Greek , ), are feliform carnivoran mammals of the family Hyaenidae . With only four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the Carnivora and one of the smallest in the cl ...

family is the

spotted hyena The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus ''Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUC ...

(''Crocuta crocuta'') of sub-Saharan Africa, at up to a maximum weight of . Spotted hyenas can range up to in total length and tall at the shoulder. The largest fossil hyena is the lion-sized ''

Pachycrocuta ''Pachycrocuta'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric hyenas. The largest and most well-researched species is ''Pachycrocuta brevirostris'', colloquially known as the giant short-faced hyena as it stood about at the shoulder and it is estimated ...

'', estimated at . *The largest living procyonid is the

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

(''Procyon lotor'') of North America, having a body length of and a body weight of . The extinct ''

Chapalmalania ''Chapalmalania'' is an extinct genus of procyonid from the Pliocene (Chapadmalalan to Uquian) of Argentina and Colombia ( Ware Formation, Cocinetas Basin, La Guajira). Description Though related to raccoons and coatis, ''Chapalmalania'' w ...

'' of South America was the largest known member of this family, about in body length. *The largest skunk is generally considered the

striped skunk The striped skunk (''Mephitis mephitis'') is a skunk of the genus '' Mephitis'' that occurs across much of North America, including southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. It is currently listed as least concern by the IUCN on a ...

, which can weigh up to and reaches lengths of up to . The

American hog-nosed skunk The American hog-nosed skunk (''Conepatus leuconotus'') is a species of hog-nosed skunk from Central and North America, and is one of the largest skunks in the world, growing to lengths of up to . Recent work has concluded the western hog-nosed ...

(''Conepatus leuconotus'') is longer, reaching lengths of up to , but is usually less heavy, at up to .

Whales (Cetacea)

*The largest whale (and largest mammal, as well as the largest animal known ever to have existed) is the

blue whale The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...

, a

baleen whale Baleen whales ( systematic name Mysticeti), also known as whalebone whales, are a parvorder of carnivorous marine mammals of the infraorder Cetacea ( whales, dolphins and porpoises) which use keratinaceous baleen plates (or "whalebone") in t ...

(Mysticeti). The longest confirmed specimen was 33.58 m (110.17 ft) in length and the heaviest was 190 tonnes. Its closest competitors are also baleen whales, the

fin whale The fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus''), also known as finback whale or common rorqual and formerly known as herring whale or razorback whale, is a cetacean belonging to the parvorder of baleen whales. It is the second-longest species of ceta ...

(''Balaenoptera physalus''), which can reach a size of in length and weight of 109 tonnes, and the bowhead (''Balaena mysticetus'') and

North Pacific right whale The North Pacific right whale (''Eubalaena japonica'') is a very large, thickset baleen whale species that is extremely rare and endangered. The Northeast Pacific population, which summers in the southeastern Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska, may ...

(''Eubalaena japonica''), both measured up to and estimated at that length to weigh about 133 tonnes.Stewart, et al., ''National Audubon Society Guide to Marine Mammals of the World''. Knofp (2002), *The largest toothed whale (Odontoceti) is the

sperm whale The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale famil ...

(''Physeter macrocephalus''), bulls of which usually range up to long and a mass of 50 tonnes. *The orca or

killer whale The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pat ...

(''Orcinus orca'') is the largest species of the oceanic

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the b ...

family. The largest orca ever recorded was a male off the coast of Japan, measuring long and weighed 10 tonnes. Orca porpoising

*The largest porpoise is the Dall's porpoise (''Phocoenoides dalli''), at up to and in length. *The largest

beaked whale Beaked whales ( systematic name Ziphiidae) are a family of cetaceans noted as being one of the least known groups of mammals because of their deep-sea habitat and apparent low abundance. Only three or four of the 24 species are reasonably well- ...

is the Baird's beaked whale (''Berardius bairdii'') at up to 14 tonnes and long. *The largest of the beluga and narwhal is the

beluga whale The beluga whale () (''Delphinapterus leucas'') is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus ''Delphinapterus''. It is also known as the ...

(''Delphinapterus leucas''). Adult male beluga whales can range from , while the females measure . *The largest river dolphin is the

Amazon river dolphin The Amazon river dolphin (''Inia geoffrensis''), also known as the boto, bufeo or pink river dolphin, is a species of toothed whale classified in the family Iniidae. Three subspecies are currently recognized: ''I. g. geoffrensis'' (Amazon river ...

(''Inia geoffrensis'') from Amazon basin , depending on subspecies. Females are typically larger than males. The largest female Amazon river dolphins can range up to *Fragmentary fossils of extinct

rorqual Rorquals () are the largest group of baleen whales, which comprise the family Balaenopteridae, containing ten extant species in three genera. They include the largest animal that has ever lived, the blue whale, which can reach , and the fin wha ...

s from the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58

Bats (Chiroptera)

*The large flying fox (''Pteropus vampyrus'') is generally reported as the largest bat.Nowak, R. M., editor (1999). ''Walker's Mammals of the World.'' Vol. 1. 6th edition. Pp. 264-271. Its wingspan has been verified to and may possibly reach . In weight it is surpassed by the closely related Indian flying fox (''P. medius''), which is the heaviest bat at up to . A few other relatively poorly known species of flying foxes may match these, but few measurements are available. *The

spectral bat The spectral bat (''Vampyrum spectrum''), also called the great false vampire bat or Linnaeus's false vampire bat, is a large, carnivorous leaf-nosed bat found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. It is the only member of the genus '' ...

(''Vampyrum spectrum'') of the

Neotropics The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

, at up to , long and about in wingspan, is the largest member of the family Phyllostomidae and is also believed to be the largest member of the microbat suborder. *The great evening bat (''Ia io''), at long with an average wingspan of and a weight of , is the largest

vesper bat Vespertilionidae is a family of microbats, of the order Chiroptera, flying, insect-eating mammals variously described as the common, vesper, or simple nosed bats. The vespertilionid family is the most diverse and widely distributed of bat famili ...

Armadillos (Cingulata)

*The extant giant of this group is the

giant armadillo The giant armadillo (''Priodontes maximus''), colloquially ''tatu-canastra'', ''tatou'', ''ocarro'' or ''tatú carreta'', is the largest living species of armadillo (although their extinct relatives, the glyptodonts, were much larger). It live ...

(''Priodontes maximus''), native to tropical South America. The top size for this species is , high at the shoulder and in length, although captive specimens can weigh up to . *Much larger prehistoric examples are known, especially '' Doedicurus'' of South America, which probably averaged around 2 tonnes, though one specimen may have weighed 2.3 tonnes, and could reach in total length and high at the top of the shelled back.

Colugos (Dermoptera)

*Of the two colugo species in the order ''Dermoptera'' of gliding arboreal mammals in

southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

, the largest and most common is the

Sunda flying lemur The Sunda flying lemur (''Galeopterus variegatus''), also known as Sunda colugo, Malayan flying lemur and Malayan colugo, is a colugo species. It is native throughout Southeast Asia ranging from southern Myanmar, Thailand, southern Vietnam, Malay ...

(''Galeopterus variegatus''). The maximum size is and in length.Nowak, Ronald E., ''Walker's Mammals of the World''. The Johns Hopkins Press (1999),

Hedgehogs and gymnures (Erinaceomorpha)

*The largest of this order and family of prickly-skinned, small mammals is the greater moonrat (''Echinosorex gymnura''), native to the rainforests of the Malaysian Peninsula as well as Sumatra and Borneo. The maximum size of this species is over and . The moonrat is a member of the same family as hedgehogs, which are typically much smaller than the moonrat. Even larger was the giant gymnure ''

Deinogalerix ''Deinogalerix'' (from Ancient Greek, "terrible/terror" + ''Galerix'') is an extinct genus of gymnure which lived in Italy in the Late Miocene, 7-10 million years ago. The genus was apparently endemic to what was then the island of Gargano, wh ...

'' from Miocene Europe. It was estimated to grow larger than a modern house cat.

Hyraxes (Hyracoidea)

*The largest species of hyrax seems to be the

rock hyrax The rock hyrax (; ''Procavia capensis''), also called dassie, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and (in the King James Bible) coney, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly referred to in South Africa as the ...

(''Procavia capensis''), at up to and long. Prehistorically, the hyraxes were, for a time, the primary terrestrial herbivores in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, and some forms grew as large as modern

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

Rabbits, hares, and pikas (Lagomorpha)

Cottontail Hungary analog photo 1983 slide scan

*The largest extant wild species may be the European hare (''Lepus europaeus''), native to western and central Eurasia. This lagomorph can range up to in weight and in total length. However, the Alaskan hare (''Lepus othus'') has almost the same exact body-proportions and weighs slightly more, averaging and reaching a maximum mass of . Also, an occasional Arctic hare (''L. arcticus'') can also weigh as much as but is typically smaller overall than the European and Alaskan species. *The largest pika species, the Chinese red pika (''Ochotona erythrotis''), reaches a body length of .Ochotona erythrotis – Chinese Red pika
Wildpro – The Electronic Encyclopaedia and Library for Wildlife.
/ref> *The largest

domestic rabbit A domestic or domesticated rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus'')—more commonly known as a pet rabbit, bunny, bun, or bunny rabbit—is a subspecies of European rabbit, a member of the lagomorph family. A male rabbit is known as a ''bu ...

breed is the

Flemish Giant Not to be confused with the Continental Giant rabbit The Flemish Giant rabbit is the largest breed of domestic rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus''). Flemish Giants are historically a utility breed used for their fur and meat. They are o ...

, which can attain a maximum known weight of . The largest lagomorph ever was '' Nuralagus rex'', native to

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its cap ...

, which could have possibly grown up to .

Elephant shrews (Macroscelidea)

*The elephant shrews are named for their combination of long, trunk-like snouts and long legs combined with a general shrew-like body form, but these animals are in fact not closely related to any other extant order (including tree shrews) and are a unique group behaviorally and in appearance. The largest species is the recently discovered

grey-faced sengi The grey-faced sengi (''Rhynchocyon udzungwensis'') is a species of elephant shrew that is endemic to the Udzungwa Mountains of south-central Tanzania. The discovery of the species was announced in January 2008; only 15 species of elephant shr ...

(''Rhynchocyon udzungwensis''), known only from the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania and Kenya. This elephant shrew can range up to and a length of .

Marsupials (Marsupialia)

*The largest

opossum Opossums () are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia () endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 93 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered No ...

is the

Virginia opossum The Virginia opossum (''Didelphis virginiana''), also known as the North American opossum, is the only opossum living north of Mexico, its range extending south into Central America. It is the northernmost marsupial in the world. In the United S ...

(''Didelphis virginiana'') from North America. Virginia opossums can vary considerably in size, with larger specimens found to the north of the opossum's range and smaller specimens in the tropics. They measure 13–37

inch Measuring tape with inches The inch (symbol: in or ″) is a unit of length in the British imperial and the United States customary systems of measurement. It is equal to yard or of a foot. Derived from the Roman uncia ("twelfth ...

es (35–94 cm) long from their snout to the base of the tail, with the tail adding another 8.5–19

es (21.6–47 cm). Weight for males ranges from 1.7 to 14 pounds (0.8–6.4 kg) and for females from 11 ounces to 8.2 pounds (0.3–3.7 kg). *The largest possum is the

common brushtail possum The common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula'', from the Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox", previously in the genus ''Phalangista'') is a nocturnal, semiarboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, native to Aus ...

(''Trichosurus vulpecula'') from Australia 32–58 cmNowak, R.M. (1991) Walker’s Mammals of the World. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London. with a tail length of 24–40 cm.Cronin, L. (2008) ''Cronin’s Key Guide Australian Mammals''. Allen & Unwin, Sydney. It weighs 1.2-4.5 kg. Males are generally larger than females. *The largest peramelemorph, the

long-nosed bandicoot The long-nosed bandicoot (''Perameles nasuta''), a marsupial, is a species of bandicoot found in eastern Australia, from north Queensland along the east coast to Victoria. Around long, it is sandy- or grey-brown with a long snouty nose. Omnivo ...

(''Perameles nasuta''), reaches a body length of about , including a tail of , and weighs .Wildlife of Tropical North Queensland. Queensland Museum Publication. (2000), p. 335. *The red kangaroo (''Osphanter rufus'') of Australia is the largest living

marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in ...

, and the largest member of the kangaroo family. These lanky mammals have been verified to and when standing completely upright. Unconfirmed specimens have been reported up to . Prehistoric kangaroos reached even larger sizes. ''

Procoptodon goliah ''Procoptodon'' is an extinct genus of giant short-faced ( sthenurine) kangaroos that lived in Australia during the Pleistocene Epoch. ''P. goliah'', the largest known kangaroo species that ever existed, stood at about . They weighed about . Oth ...

'' was one of the largest known kangaroos that ever existed, standing approximately and weighing about . Some species from the genus ''

Sthenurus ''Sthenurus'' ("strong tail") is an extinct genus of kangaroos. With a length around 3 m (10 ft), some species were twice as large as modern extant species. ''Sthenurus'' was related to the better-known ''Procoptodon''. The subfamily S ...

'' were similar in size as well. *The

northern hairy-nosed wombat The northern hairy-nosed wombat (''Lasiorhinus krefftii'') or yaminon is one of three extant species of Australian marsupials known as wombats. It is one of the rarest land mammals in the world and is critically endangered. Its historical rang ...

(''Lasiorhinus kreffti'') is the largest vombatiform alive today with a head and body length up to and a weight of up to . Prehistorically, this suborder contained many huge marsupials, including the largest to ever exist: ''

Diprotodon ''Diprotodon'' ( Ancient Greek: "two protruding front teeth") is an extinct genus of marsupial from the Pleistocene of Australia, containing one species, ''D. optatum''. The earliest finds date to 1.77 million to 780,000 years ago, but most s ...

''. This rhino-sized herbivore would have reached more than in length and stood at shoulder and was estimated to weigh up to . *The

Tasmanian devil The Tasmanian devil (''Sarcophilus harrisii'') ( palawa kani: purinina) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. Until recently, it was only found on the island state of Tasmania, but it has been reintroduced to New South Wales ...

(''Sarcophilus harrisii''), endemic to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, is the largest living marsupial carnivore. These stocky mammals can range up to and in total length. The recently extinct

thylacine The thylacine ( , or , also ) (''Thylacinus cynocephalus'') is an extinct carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. The last known live animal was captured in 1930 in Tasma ...

(''Thylacinus cynocephalus''), a close relative of the devil, grew larger and was the largest member of the group to survive into modern times. The largest measured specimen was from nose to tail. *The largest carnivorous marsupials known to ever exist were the Australian marsupial lion (''Thylacoleo'') and the South American saber-toothed marsupial (''Thylacosmilus'') both ranging from long and weighing between . Neither were closely related to the true marsupial carnivores of today. Rather, the marsupial lion was most closely related to the herbivorous koalas, while ''Thylacosmilus'' was a member of the order

Sparassodonta Sparassodonta (from Greek to tear, rend; and , gen. , ' tooth) is an extinct order of carnivorous metatherian mammals native to South America, related to modern marsupials. They were once considered to be true marsupials, but are now t ...

, a group which may not have even been true marsupials.

Monotreme mammals (Monotremata)

:The largest

monotreme Monotremes () are prototherian mammals of the order Monotremata. They are one of the three groups of living mammals, along with placentals ( Eutheria), and marsupials (Metatheria). Monotremes are typified by structural differences in their brai ...

(egg-bearing mammal) is the

western long-beaked echidna The western long-beaked echidna (''Zaglossus bruijnii'') is one of the four extant echidnas and one of three species of '' Zaglossus'' that occurs in New Guinea. Originally described as ''Tachyglossus bruijnii'', this is the type species of ''Zag ...

(''Zaglossus bruijni'') weighing up to and measuring long. The largest monotreme ever was the extinct

echidna Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae . The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the ...

species '' Murrayglossus hacketti'', known only from a few bones found in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

. It was about 1 m long and probably weighed about .

Odd-toed ungulates (Perissodactyla)

*The largest extant species is the

white rhinoceros The white rhinoceros, white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros (''Ceratotherium simum'') is the largest extant species of rhinoceros. It has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species. The white rhinoceros consists ...

(''Ceratotherium simum''). The largest size this species can attain is , in total length, and tall at the shoulder.African Rhinoceros
. Safari Now It is slightly larger than the

Indian rhinoceros } The Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis''), also called the Indian rhino, greater one-horned rhinoceros or great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red Li ...

(''Rhinoceros unicornis''), which can range up to a weight of .Boitani, Luigi, ''Simon & Schuster's Guide to Mammals''. Simon & Schuster/Touchstone Books (1984), The extinct '' Elasmotherium sibricum'' was the largest rhino to ever exist. It stood approximately tall at the shoulder, up to long (excluding horn), and weighed from . *The largest extant wild

equid Equidae (sometimes known as the horse family) is the taxonomic family of horses and related animals, including the extant horses, asses, and zebras, and many other species known only from fossils. All extant species are in the genus '' Equus' ...

s are the Grevy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), at up to , a shoulder height of and total length of . Until it was domesticated into extinction the

wild horse The wild horse (''Equus ferus'') is a species of the genus ''Equus'', which includes as subspecies the modern domesticated horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') as well as the endangered Przewalski's horse (''Equus ferus przewalskii''). The Europea ...

(''E. ferus'') was the largest equid. Domestic horses can reach a maximum weight of and shoulder height of , probably far greater than the sizes attained by the wild horse. The largest prehistoric horse was ''

Equus giganteus The giant horse (''Equus giganteus'') is an extinct species of horse which lived in North America. It was classified as a species based on the finding of a single tooth larger than the teeth of even the largest modern draft horse A draft h ...

'' of North America. It was estimated to grow around the same size as the aforementioned domestic horse. *The largest of the tapirs is the

Malayan tapir The Malayan tapir (''Tapirus indicus''), also called Asian tapir, Asiatic tapir and Indian tapir, is the only tapir species native to Southeast Asia from the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra. It has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since ...

(''Acrocodia indica''), the only member of the family outside of South America. Maximum size is about in length, tall at the shoulder, and up to in weight. *The second largest land mammal ever was '' Paraceratherium'' or ''Indricotherium'' (formerly known as the ''Baluchitherium''), a member of this order. The largest known species (''Paraceratherium orgosensis'') is believed to have stood up to tall, measured over long and may have weighed about 17 tonnes.

Pangolins (Pholidota)

*The largest species of scaly anteater is the

giant pangolin The giant pangolin (''Smutsia gigantea'') is the largest species in the family of pangolins. Members of the species inhabit Africa with a range stretching along the equator from West Africa to Uganda. It subsists almost entirely on ants and t ...

(''Manis gigantea''), at up to and at least .

Anteaters and sloths (Pilosa)

*The largest species is the

giant anteater The giant anteater (''Myrmecophaga tridactyla'') is an insectivorous mammal native to Central and South America. It is one of four living species of anteaters, of which it is the largest member. The only extant member of the genus ''Myrmecophag ...

(''Myrmecophaga tridactyla''). A large adult can weigh as much as , be over tall at the shoulder and measure in overall length. Giant Anteater

*The largest living

sloth Sloths are a group of Neotropical xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora, including the extant arboreal tree sloths and extinct terrestrial ground sloths. Noted for their slowness of movement, tree sloths spend most of their l ...

s are the Linnaeus's two-toed sloth (''Choloepus didactylus'') and

Hoffmann's two-toed sloth Hoffmann's two-toed sloth (''Choloepus hoffmanni''), also known as the northern two-toed sloth is a species of sloth from Central and South America. It is a solitary, largely nocturnal and arboreal animal, found in mature and secondary rainf ...

s (''C. hoffmanni''), which both can range up to and long. *The sloths attained much larger sizes prehistorically, the largest of which were '' Megatherium'' which, at an estimated average weight of 4.5 tonnes and standing height of , was about the same size as the

African bush elephant The African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana'') is one of two extant African elephant species and one of three extant elephant species. It is the largest living terrestrial animal, with bulls reaching a shoulder height of up to and a body ...

Primates (Primates)

*The

gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four ...

s (''Gorilla gorilla'' & ''G. beringei'') are the most massive living primates. The largest race is

eastern lowland gorilla The eastern lowland gorilla (''Gorilla beringei graueri'') or Grauer's gorilla is a Critically Endangered subspecies of eastern gorilla endemic to the mountainous forests of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Important populations of t ...

(''G. b. graueri''), with males average , tall at the shoulder while on all fours and tall when standing. The tallest wild gorilla (from the mountain gorilla race, ''G. b. beringei'') stood and the heaviest wild one massed , although heavier weights have been observed in captivity. The great ape ''

Gigantopithecus ''Gigantopithecus'' ( ; ) is an extinct genus of ape from roughly 2 million to 350,000 years ago during the Early to Middle Pleistocene of southern China, represented by one species, ''Gigantopithecus blacki''. Potential identifications have als ...

'', which lived in Asia between 1 million and 100,000 years ago, is the largest primate known to have existed. It was estimated to stand tall and to weigh up to . However this is disputed and may only have been half of that weight. *The largest of the

Old World monkey Old World monkey is the common English name for a family of primates known taxonomically as the Cercopithecidae (). Twenty-four genera and 138 species are recognized, making it the largest primate family. Old World monkey genera include baboons ...

s is the

mandrill The mandrill (''Mandrillus sphinx'') is a large Old World monkey native to west central Africa. It is one of the most colorful mammals in the world, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. The species is sexually dimorphic, as mal ...

(''Mandrillus sphinx'') with large males being up to , long and at the shoulders. The prehistoric baboon ''

Dinopithecus ''Dinopithecus'' ("terrible ape") is an extinct genus of very large primate closely related to the baboon that lived during the Pliocene to the Pleistocene epoch of South Africa and Ethiopia. It was named by British paleontologist Robert Broom i ...

'' grew even larger than modern mandrills, weighing as much as a grown man. *The largest New World monkey is the

southern muriqui The southern muriqui (''Brachyteles arachnoides'') is a muriqui (woolly spider monkey) species endemic to Brazil. Taxonomy Taxonomy of muriquis is controversial because some scientists believe that they are a monotypic genus while others fa ...

(''Brachyteles arachnoides''), up to and in total length. *The largest

lemur Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are wet-nosed primates of the superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are endemic to the island of Madagas ...

is the

indri The indri (; ''Indri indri''), also called the babakoto, is one of the largest living lemurs, with a head-body length of about and a weight of between . It has a black and white coat and maintains an upright posture when climbing or clinging. ...

(''Indri indri'') which can weigh up to and in total length, though one fossil lemur, ''

Archaeoindris ''Archaeoindris fontoynontii'' is an extinct giant lemur and the largest primate known to have evolved on Madagascar, comparable in size to a male gorilla. It belonged to a family of extinct lemurs known as " sloth lemurs" (Palaeopropithecidae ...

'', was gorilla-sized at . *

Human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...

s can attain weights of up to as well as heights of up to , although these are cases of morbid

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...

tumor A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

gigantism Gigantism ( el, γίγας, ''gígas'', " giant", plural γίγαντες, ''gígantes''), also known as giantism, is a condition characterized by excessive growth and height significantly above average. In humans, this condition is caused by ov ...

or other medical malady. However, even when not afflicted with gigantism, humans are the tallest living primates. The largest man without growth abnormalities was tall and weighed at least .

Elephants, mammoths, and mastodons (Proboscidea)

*The

, with a largest recorded weight of 10.4 tonnes, is the largest extant member of the order

Proboscidea The Proboscidea (; , ) are a taxonomic order of afrotherian mammals containing one living family ( Elephantidae) and several extinct families. First described by J. Illiger in 1811, it encompasses the elephants and their close relatives. Fr ...

. Though various contenders vie for the title of largest proboscid ever, including the

steppe mammoth The steppe mammoth (''Mammuthus trogontherii'', sometimes ''Mammuthus armeniacus'') is an extinct species of Elephantidae that ranged over most of northern Eurasia during the late Early and Middle Pleistocene, approximately 1.8 million-200,000 y ...

(''M. trogontherii'') of Asia, the columbian mammoth (''M. columbi'') of North America, and '' Paleoloxodon recki'' of Africa (each of these species possibly reaching a shoulder height of and 14.3 tonnes in weight), the largest so far discovered species is believed to have been '' Palaeoloxodon namadicus''. A recent estimate puts the largest individuals at a shoulder height of and a weight of about 22 tonnes. This would make it the largest land mammal known to ever exist, surpassing even ''Paraceratherium''/''Indricotherium''. *'' Deinotherium "thraceiensis"'', at tall and a weight of , rivaled those proboscideans in size, and was the largest member of its family (Deinotheriidae).

Rodents (Rodentia)

Capybara Hattiesburg Zoo (70909b-42) 2560x1600

*The largest living

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...

is the

capybara The capybaraAlso called capivara (in Brazil), capiguara (in Bolivia), chigüire, chigüiro, or fercho (in Colombia and Venezuela), carpincho (in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and ronsoco (in Peru). or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydro ...

(''Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris''), native to most of the tropical and

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

parts of South America east of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, always near water. Full-grown capybaras can reach long and tall at the shoulder and a maximum weight of . the extinct ''

Neochoerus pinckneyi ''Neochoerus pinckneyi'' was a North American species of capybara. While capybaras originated in South America, formation of the Isthmus of Panama three million years ago allowed some of them to migrate north as part of the Great American Interc ...

'' from North America At 90 to 113 kg (200 to 250 pounds), 40% larger than the living capybara, *The second largest living rodent is the

North American beaver The North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') is one of two extant beaver species, along with the Eurasian beaver (''Castor fiber''). It is native to North America and introduced in South America ( Patagonia) and Europe (primarily Finland ...

(''Castor canadensis''), which favors water perhaps even more than its larger cousin. Outsized male beaver specimens have been recorded up to , which is about twice the normal weight for a beaver, and in total length. The

Eurasian beaver The Eurasian beaver (''Castor fiber'') or European beaver is a beaver species that was once widespread in Eurasia, but was hunted to near-extinction for both its fur and castoreum. At the turn of the 20th century, only about 1,200 beavers survi ...

(''C. fiber'') is close to the same average size, but is known to top out around a mass of . The largest of this family is the extinct giant beaver of North America. It grew over in length and weighed roughly , also making it one of the largest rodents to ever exist. *The largest species in the

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. ...

family is the hoary marmot (''Marmota caligata'') of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...

, at up to and long. *The largest porcupine is the

Cape porcupine The Cape porcupine (''Hystrix africaeaustralis''), Cape crested porcupine or South African porcupine, is a species of Old World porcupine native to central and southern Africa. Description left, 180px, head Cape porcupines are the second larg ...

(''Hystrix africaeaustralis'') of Central Africa long from the head to the base of the tail, with the tail adding a further . They weigh from , with exceptionally large specimens weighing up to ;Burnie D and Wilson DE (Eds.), ''Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife''. DK Adult (2005), males and females are not significantly different in size. *The largest hutia is Desmarest's hutia (''Capromys pilorides'') of Cuba , a tail that is long, and weigh . The largest extinct blunt-toothed giant hutia to have weighed between 50 and 200 kg (110 and 440 lb). *The largest guinea pig, the greater guinea pig (''Cavia magna''), grows to a total length of and weight of for males and a total length of and weight of for females. *The largest

Muroid The Muroidea are a large superfamily of rodents, including mice, rats, voles, hamsters, lemmings, gerbils, and many other relatives. Although the Muroidea originated in Eurasia, they occupy a vast variety of habitats on every continent excep ...

is the

Gambian pouched rat The Gambian pouched rat (''Cricetomys gambianus''), also commonly known as the African giant pouched rat, is a species of nocturnal pouched rat of the giant pouched rat genus ''Cricetomys'', in the family Nesomyidae. It is among the largest mu ...

of Africa. It grows up to in total length and can weigh up to . *The largest known rodent ever is ''

Josephoartigasia monesi ''Josephoartigasia'' is an extinct genus of enormous dinomyid rodent from the Early Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of Uruguay. The only living member of Dinomyidae is the pacarana. ''Josephoartigasia'' is named after Uruguayan national hero Jos ...

'', an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

species known only from

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s found in Uruguay. It was approximately long and tall, and is estimated to have weighed 1.5–2.5 tonnes. Prior to the description of ''J. monesi'', the largest known rodent species were from the genus ''

Phoberomys ''Phoberomys'' is an extinct genus of rodents. Fossil specimens from the Late Miocene period have been discovered in the Ituzaingó Formation of Argentina, the Solimões Formation of Brazil, the Urumaco Formation at Urumaco in Venezuela, and the ...

'', of which two species have been discovered. An almost complete skeleton of the slightly smaller

Late Miocene The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million years ago) to 5.333 Ma. The ...

species, '' Phoberomys pattersoni'', was discovered in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

in 2000; it was approximately long, with an additional tail, and probably weighed around . *The largest dipodid is the

great jerboa The great jerboa (''Allactaga major'') is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is found in Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. It mainly lives in deserts. Description The great jerboa is the biggest of all ...

(''Allactaga major''), with a body length of and a tail of .

Tree shrews (Scandentia)

*The largest of the tree shrews seems to be the

common treeshrew The common treeshrew (''Tupaia glis'') is a small mammal in the treeshrew family Tupaiidae, and is native to Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It has been listed as Least Concern by IUCN as it remains common and displays some adaptability to ong ...

(''Tupaia glis''), at up to 187 g (6.6 oz) and .

Dugongs and manatees (Sirenia)

*The largest living species in the order ''

Sirenia The Sirenia (), commonly referred to as sea-cows or sirenians, are an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit swamps, rivers, estuaries, marine wetlands, and coastal marine waters. The Sirenia currently comprise two distinct ...

'' of

dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest m ...

s and

manatee Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living speci ...

s is the

West Indian manatee The West Indian manatee (''Trichechus manatus''), also known as the North American manatee, is a large, aquatic mammal native to warm coastal areas of the Caribbean, from the eastern US to northern Brazil. Living alone or in herds, it feeds on un ...

(''Trichechus manatus''). The largest manatees are found in the Florida subspecies. The maximum recorded size of this species was and a total length of . *The extinct

Steller's sea cow Steller's sea cow (''Hydrodamalis gigas'') is an extinct sirenian described by Georg Wilhelm Steller in 1741. At that time, it was found only around the Commander Islands in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia; its range extended across ...

(''Hydrodamalis gigas'') was the largest member to ever exist, growing up to at least long and weighing up to 11 tonnes. It was a member of the

family.

Shrews and moles (Soricomorpha)

*The largest species of this order is the Hispaniolan solenodon (''Solenodon paradoxus''), males of which can weigh up to 1 kg (35.3 oz) and reach lengths of . *The largest species of shrew, typically among the smallest-bodied of mammals, is the Asian house shrew (''Suncus murinus''), weighing up to and reach lengths of up to . *The largest mole is the amphibious

Russian desman The Russian desman (''Desmana moschata'') (russian: выхухоль ''vykhukhol'') is a small semiaquatic mammal that inhabits the Volga, Don and Ural River basins in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. It constructs burrows into the banks of pond ...

(''Desmana moschata''), with a total length of up to and an upper weight of .

Aardvark (Tubulidentata)

*The only species in this order is the unique

aardvark The aardvark ( ; ''Orycteropus afer'') is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlik ...

(''Orycteropus afer'') of sub-Saharan Africa. Aardvarks are typically up to in length with an average weight of up to and a shoulder height up to . However, individuals as large as and as heavy as are recorded.

Other mammals

*An ancient relative of ungulates, ''

Andrewsarchus ''Andrewsarchus'' () is an extinct genus of mammal that lived during the middle Eocene epoch in what is now Inner Mongolia, China. Only one species is usually recognized, ''A. mongoliensis'', known from a single skull of great size discovered ...

'', may have been the largest carnivorous land mammal ever, despite almost all living species being herbivorous. Known only from a skull found in Mongolia, about twice the length of a modern

skull, this great beast has been estimated to range as high in size as at the shoulder and in length. Weight estimates range anywhere from 454 to 1,816 kg (1,000 to 4,000 lb.) based on the unknown proportion of the skull's size relative to the body size. *The largest member of the extinct order Cimolesta was probably '' Coryphodon'', which was about at shoulder height and in body length and may have weighed up to in the largest species. *The largest member of the extinct order Dinocerata (commonly known as Uintatheres) was '' Eobasileus''. It was about long and stood tall at the shoulder, with a weight up to 4000 kg (8818 lbs). *The largest " creodont" was either ''

Megistotherium ''Megistotherium'' ("greatest beast") is an extinct genus of hyainailourid hyaenodonts from paraphyletic subfamily Hyainailourinae that lived in Africa. Etymology The name of this genus comes and . The name of species ''Megistotherium ost ...

'' or '' Sarkastodon''. Both have had estimated weights of around , though more recent studies suggest they were more likely closer to . Both were among the largest predatory mammals of all time. *The largest member of the extinct Notoungulata, and the superorder Meridiungulata, was ''

Toxodon ''Toxodon'' (meaning "bow tooth" in reference to the curvature of the teeth) is an extinct genus of South American mammals from the Late Miocene to early Holocene epochs ( Mayoan to Lujanian in the SALMA classification) (about 11.6 million t ...

''. It was about in body length, with an estimated weight up to . *''

Taeniolabis ''Taeniolabis'' ("banded incisor") is a genus of extinct multituberculate mammal from the Paleocene of North America. Description It is the largest known member of the extinct order Multituberculata, as well as the largest non-therian mamm ...

taoensis'' is the largest non-

theria Theria (; Greek: , wild beast) is a subclass of mammals amongst the Theriiformes. Theria includes the eutherians (including the placental mammals) and the metatherians (including the marsupials) but excludes the egg-laying monotremes. ...

n mammal known, at a weight possibly exceeding 100 kg.Thomas E. Williamson, Stephen L. Brusatte, Ross Secord, Sarah Shelley, A new taeniolabidoid multituberculate (Mammalia) from the middle Puercan of the Nacimiento Formation, New Mexico, and a revision of taeniolabidoid systematics and phylogeny, 5 OCT 2015, doi: 10.1111/zoj.12336: "Taeniolabidoids underwent a modest taxonomic radiation during the early Palaeocene of North America and underwent a dramatic increase in body size, with Taeniolabis taoensis possibly exceeding 100 kg"

Notes

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References

Mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...

largest

Tenrecs and allies (Afrosoricida)

Even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla)

Carnivorans (Carnivora)

Whales (Cetacea)

Bats (Chiroptera)

Armadillos (Cingulata)

Colugos (Dermoptera)

Hedgehogs and gymnures (Erinaceomorpha)

Hyraxes (Hyracoidea)

Rabbits, hares, and pikas (Lagomorpha)

Elephant shrews (Macroscelidea)

Marsupials (Marsupialia)

Monotreme mammals (Monotremata)

Odd-toed ungulates (Perissodactyla)

Pangolins (Pholidota)

Anteaters and sloths (Pilosa)

Primates (Primates)

Elephants, mammoths, and mastodons (Proboscidea)

Rodents (Rodentia)

Tree shrews (Scandentia)

Dugongs and manatees (Sirenia)

Shrews and moles (Soricomorpha)

Aardvark (Tubulidentata)

Other mammals

See also

Notes

References