This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Kuwait. There are twenty-five mammal species in

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

, of which one is endangered, four are vulnerable, and one is near threatened. One of the species listed for Kuwait can no longer be found in the wild. The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...

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 ...
(manatees and dugongs)

---- Sirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit rivers, estuaries, coastal marine waters, swamps, and marine wetlands. All four species are endangered. *Family:

Dugongidae Dugongidae is a family in the order of Sirenia. The family has one surviving species, the dugong (''Dugong dugon''), one recently extinct species, Steller's sea cow (''Hydrodamalis gigas''), and a number of extinct genera known from fossil r ...

**Genus: ''

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 ...

'' ***

, ''D. dugon''

Order:
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 ...
ia (rodents)

---- Rodents make up the largest order of mammals, with over 40% of mammalian species. They have two

incisor Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, wher ...

s in the upper and lower jaw which grow continually and must be kept short by gnawing. *Suborder:

Myomorpha The suborder Myomorpha contains 1,524 species of mouse-like rodents, nearly a quarter of all mammal species. Included are mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters, lemmings, and voles. They are grouped according to the structure of their jaws and molar ...

**Family:

Dipodidae Jerboas (from ar, جربوع ') are hopping desert rodents found throughout North Africa and Asia, and are members of the family Dipodidae. They tend to live in hot deserts. When chased, jerboas can run at up to . Some species are preyed on b ...

(jerboas) ***Subfamily:

Allactaginae Allactaginae is a subfamily of rodents. Classification Subfamily Allactaginae *Genus ''Allactaga'' **''incertae sedis'' ***''Allactaga toussi'' **Subgenus ''Allactaga'' ***Small five-toed jerboa, ''Allactaga elater'' *** Iranian jerboa, ''Alla ...

****Genus: '' Allactaga'' ***** Euphrates jerboa, ''A. euphratica'' **Family: Muridae (mice, rats, gerbils, etc.) ***Subfamily:

Gerbillinae Gerbillinae is one of the subfamilies of the rodent family Muridae and includes the gerbils, jirds, and sand rats. Once known as desert rats, the subfamily includes about 110 species of African, Indian, and Asian rodents, including sand rats a ...

****Genus: ''

Gerbillus ''Gerbillus'' is a genus that contains most common and the most diverse gerbils. In 2010, after morphological and molecular studies '' Dipodillus'' was ranged as a subgenus of ''Gerbillus'', however some taxonomic authorities continue to separate ...

'' ***** Cheesman's gerbil, ''Gerbillus cheesmani'' *****

Wagner's gerbil Wagner's gerbil (''Dipodillus dasyurus'') is a gerbil that is native mainly to the Nile Delta, Israel, the Sinai Peninsula, Sinai, Syria, Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula. It also referred to as the ''rough-tailed dipodil'' or ''Wadi Hof gerbil''. ...

, ''Gerbillus dasyurus'' LC ****Genus: '' Meriones'' *****

Sundevall's jird Sundevall's jird (''Meriones crassus'') is a species of rodent in the family of Muridae. It is found in Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Pakistan, Morocco, Niger, Palestine, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, ...

, ''Meriones crassus'' LC ****Genus: '' Tatera'' *****

Indian gerbil The Indian gerbil (''Tatera indica'') also known as antelope rat, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in southern Asia from Syria to Bangladesh. It is the only species in the genus ''Tatera''. Members of the genus ''Gerb ...

, ''Tatera indica'' LC

Order:
Erinaceomorpha Erinaceidae is a family in the order Eulipotyphla, consisting of the hedgehogs and moonrats. Until recently, it was assigned to the order Erinaceomorpha, which has been subsumed with the paraphyletic Soricomorpha into Eulipotyphla. Eulipotyph ...
(hedgehogs and gymnures)

---- The order Erinaceomorpha contains a single family, Erinaceidae, which comprise the

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introductio ...

s and gymnures. The hedgehogs are easily recognised by their spines while gymnures look more like large rats. *Family: Erinaceidae (hedgehogs) **Subfamily:

Erinaceinae A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduc ...

***Genus: ''

Paraechinus ''Paraechinus'' is a genus of hedgehogs. Members are small and nocturnal. The genus contains four species from North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia: * Desert hedgehog (''Paraechinus aethiopicus'') * Brandt's hedgehog (''Paraechinus hy ...

'' ****

Desert hedgehog The desert hedgehog (''Paraechinus aethiopicus'') is a species of mammal in the family Erinaceidae. Basic facts The desert hedgehog is one of the smallest of hedgehogs. It is long and weighs about . The quills (or spines to give their corre ...

, ''P. aethiopicus''

Order:
Chiroptera Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bir ...
(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:

Vespertilionidae 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 ...

**Subfamily:

Vespertilioninae The Vespertilioninae are a subfamily of vesper bats from the family Vespertilionidae. Classification Subfamily Vespertilioninae *Tribe Antrozoini **Genus '' Antrozous'' *** Pallid bat, ''Antrozous pallidus'' **Genus '' Bauerus'' *** Van Geld ...

***Genus: ''

Pipistrellus ''Pipistrellus'' is a genus of bats in the family Vespertilionidae and subfamily Vespertilioninae. The name of the genus is derived from the Italian word , meaning "bat" (from Latin "bird of evening, bat"). The size of the genus has been cons ...

'' **** Kuhl's pipistrelle, ''Pipistrellus kuhlii'' LC *Family: Rhinopomatidae **Genus: ''

Rhinopoma Mouse-tailed bats are a group of insectivorous microbats of the family Rhinopomatidae with only three to six species, all contained in the single genus ''Rhinopoma''. They are found in the Old World, from North Africa to Thailand and Sumatra, i ...

'' *** Lesser mouse-tailed bat, ''Rhinopoma hardwickei'' LC

Order: Cetacea (whales)

---- The order Cetacea includes

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

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 ...

s 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: Balaenopterinae ****Genus: ''

Balaenoptera ''Balaenoptera'' () is a genus of rorquals containing eight extant species. ''Balaenoptera'' comprises all but two of the extant species in its family (the humpback whale and gray whale); the genus is currently polyphyletic, with the two afore ...

'' *****

Pygmy blue whale The pygmy blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda'') is a subspecies of the blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') found in the Indian Ocean and the southern Pacific Ocean. Reaching lengths of up to 24 metres (79 ft) it is small ...

, ''Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda'' EN ***Subfamily: Megapterinae ****Genus: ''

Megaptera The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hu ...

'' *****

Humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hu ...

, ''M. novaeangliae'' *Suborder: Odontoceti **Superfamily:

Platanistoidea River dolphins are a polyphyletic group of fully aquatic mammals that reside exclusively in freshwater or brackish water. They are an informal grouping of dolphins, which itself is a paraphyletic group within the infraorder Cetacea. Extant riv ...

***Family:

Phocoenidae Porpoises are a group of fully aquatic marine mammals, all of which are classified under the family Phocoenidae, parvorder Odontoceti (toothed whales). Although similar in appearance to dolphins, they are more closely related to narwhals ...

****Genus: ''

Neophocaena ''Neophocaena'' is a genus of porpoise native to the Indian and Pacific oceans, as well as the freshwater habitats of the Yangtze River basin in China. They are commonly known as finless porpoises. Genetic studies indicate that ''Neophocaena'' is ...

'' *****

Finless porpoise ''Neophocaena'' is a genus of porpoise native to the Indian and Pacific oceans, as well as the freshwater habitats of the Yangtze River basin in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. ...

, ''Neophocaena phocaenoides'' DD ***Family:

Delphinidae Oceanic dolphins or Delphinidae are a widely distributed family of dolphins that live in the sea. Close to forty extant species are recognised. They include several big species whose common names contain "whale" rather than "dolphin", such as the ...

(marine dolphins) ****Genus: '' Sousa'' *****

Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphin The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (''Sousa chinensis'') is a species of humpback dolphin inhabiting coastal waters of the eastern Indian and western Pacific Oceans. This species is often referred to as the Chinese white dolphin in mainland Chi ...

, ''Sousa chinensis'' DD ****Genus: ''

Grampus Grampus may refer to: Animals *''Grampus'', the genus and another name for Risso's dolphin, ''Grampus griseus'' *A synonym of the genus ''Orcinus'' *Another name for ''Orcinus orca'', the killer whale or orca *Another name for the hellbender, a sp ...

'' *****

Risso's dolphin Risso's dolphin (''Grampus griseus'') is a dolphin, the only species of the genus ''Grampus''. Some of the closest related species to these dolphins include: pilot whales (''Globicephala'' spp.), pygmy killer whales (''Feresa attenuata''), melon ...

, ''Grampus griseus'' DD

Order: Carnivora (carnivorans)

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

Feliformia Feliformia is a suborder within the order Carnivora consisting of "cat-like" carnivorans, including cats (large and small), hyenas, mongooses, viverrids, and related taxa. Feliformia stands in contrast to the other suborder of Carnivora, Canifor ...

**Family: Felidae (cats) ***Subfamily:

Felinae The Felinae are a subfamily of the family Felidae. This subfamily comprises the small cats having a bony hyoid, because of which they are able to purr but not roar. Other authors have proposed an alternative definition for this subfamily: as ...

****Genus: ''

Caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted e ...

'' *****

, ''C. caracal'' ****Genus: ''

Felis ''Felis'' is a genus of small and medium-sized cat species native to most of Africa and south of 60° latitude in Europe and Asia to Indochina. The genus includes the domestic cat. The smallest ''Felis'' species is the black-footed cat with a h ...

'' *****

African wildcat The African wildcat (''Felis lybica'') is a small wildcat species native to Africa, West and Central Asia up to Rajasthan in India and Xinjiang in China. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in 2022. In Cyprus, an African wil ...

, ''F. lybica'' *****

Sand cat The sand cat (''Felis margarita'') is a small wild cat that inhabits sandy and stony deserts far from water sources. With its sandy to light grey fur, it is well camouflaged in a desert environment. Its head-and-body length ranges from with a ...

, ''F. margarita'' **Family:

Herpestidae 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 ...

(mongooses) ***Genus: ''

Urva Urva (also, Urvan, lez, Вурвар) is a village and municipality in the Qusar Rayon of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 2,472. The municipality consists of the villages of Urva and Urvaoba Urvaoba is a village in the municipality of Urva ...

'' ****

Indian grey mongoose The Indian grey mongoose (''Urva edwardsii'') is a mongoose species native to the Indian subcontinent and West Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The grey mongoose inhabits open forests, scrublands and cultivated fields ...

, ''U. edwardsii'' **Family: Hyaenidae (hyaenas) ***Genus: '' Hyaena'' **** Striped hyena, ''H. hyaena'' , presence uncertain *Suborder: Caniformia **Family: Canidae (dogs, foxes) ***Genus: ''

Vulpes '' Vulpes '' is a genus of the sub-family Caninae. The members of this genus are colloquially referred to as true foxes, meaning they form a proper clade. The word " fox" occurs in the common names of all species of the genus, but also appea ...

'' ****

Rüppell's fox Rüppell's fox (''Vulpes rueppellii''), also called Rüppell's sand fox, is a fox species living in desert and semi-desert regions of North Africa, the Middle East, and southwestern Asia. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List ...

, ''V. rueppellii'' **** Red fox, ''V. vulpes'' **Family:

Mustelidae The Mustelidae (; from Latin ''mustela'', weasel) are a family of carnivorous mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks and wolverines, among others. Mustelids () are a diverse group and form the largest family in th ...

(mustelids) ***Genus: ''

Mellivora ''Mellivora'' is a genus of mustelids that contains the honey badger or ratel ''(Mellivora capensis)''. It is also the sole living representative of the subfamily Mellivorinae. Additionally, two extinct species are known. The honey badger is nati ...

'' ****

Honey badger The honey badger (''Mellivora capensis''), also known as the ratel ( or ), is a mammal widely distributed in Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Because of its wide range and occurrence in a variety of habitats, it is liste ...

, ''M. capensis''

Locally extinct

The following species are

locally extinct Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

in the country: *

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

, ''Acinonyx jubatus'' * Saudi gazelle, ''Gazella saudiya'' *

Arabian oryx The Arabian oryx (''Oryx leucoryx'') or white oryx is a medium-sized antelope with a distinct shoulder bump, long, straight horns, and a tufted tail. It is a bovid, and the smallest member of the genus ''Oryx'', native to desert and steppe areas o ...

, ''Oryx leucoryx'' * Leopard, ''Panthera pardus''

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuwait Lists of mammals by country Lists of mammals of the Middle East

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 ...

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 ... (manatees and dugongs)

Order: 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 ...ia (rodents)

Order: Erinaceomorpha Erinaceidae is a family in the order Eulipotyphla, consisting of the hedgehogs and moonrats. Until recently, it was assigned to the order Erinaceomorpha, which has been subsumed with the paraphyletic Soricomorpha into Eulipotyphla. Eulipotyph ... (hedgehogs and gymnures)

Order: Chiroptera Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bir ... (bats)

Order: Cetacea (whales)

Order: Carnivora (carnivorans)

Locally extinct

See also

Notes

References

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 ...
(manatees and dugongs)

Order:
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 ...
ia (rodents)

Order:
Erinaceomorpha Erinaceidae is a family in the order Eulipotyphla, consisting of the hedgehogs and moonrats. Until recently, it was assigned to the order Erinaceomorpha, which has been subsumed with the paraphyletic Soricomorpha into Eulipotyphla. Eulipotyph ...
(hedgehogs and gymnures)

Order:
Chiroptera Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bir ...
(bats)