List of mammals of Costa Rica


This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Costa Rica. Of the mammal species in Costa Rica, one is critically endangered, four are endangered, six are vulnerable, and three are near threatened. One species is considered extinct.
The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature:
EXExtinctNo reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
EWExtinct in the wildKnown only to survive in captivity or as a naturalized populations well outside its previous range.
CRCritically endangeredThe species is in imminent risk of extinction in the wild.
ENEndangeredThe species is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
VUVulnerableThe species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
NTNear threatenedThe species does not meet any of the criteria that would categorise it as risking extinction but it is likely to do so in the future.
LCLeast concernThere are no current identifiable risks to the species.
DDData deficientThere is inadequate information to make an assessment of the risks to this species.

Some species were assessed using an earlier set of criteria. Species assessed using this system have the following instead of near threatened and least concern categories:
LR/cdLower risk/conservation dependentSpecies which were the focus of conservation programmes and may have moved into a higher risk category if that programme was discontinued.
LR/ntLower risk/near threatenedSpecies which are close to being classified as vulnerable but are not the subject of conservation programmes.
LR/lcLower risk/least concernSpecies for which there are no identifiable risks.

Subclass: [Theria]

Infraclass: [Eutheria]

Order: [Sirenia] (manatees and dugongs)

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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.
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The armadillos are small mammals with a bony armored shell. They are native to the Americas. There are around 20 extant species.
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The order Pilosa is extant only in the Americas and includes the anteaters, sloths, and tamanduas.
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The order Primates contains humans and their closest relatives: lemurs, lorisoids, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes. Four species of monkey are native to Costa Rica.
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Rodents make up the largest order of mammals, with over 40% of mammalian species. However, there are fewer than 50 rodent species in Costa Rica. They have two incisors in the upper and lower jaw which grow continually and must be kept short by gnawing. Most rodents are small though the capybara can weigh up to.
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The lagomorphs comprise two families, Leporidae, and Ochotonidae. Though they can resemble rodents, and were classified as a superfamily in that order until the early 20th century, they have since been considered a separate order. They differ from rodents in a number of physical characteristics, such as having four incisors in the upper jaw rather than two.
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Eulipotyphlans are insectivorous mammals. Shrews and solenodons closely resemble mice, hedgehogs carry spines, while moles are stout-bodied burrowers.
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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. 109 species of bats have been recorded in Costa Rica, accounting for half of the country's mammal species, and about 12% of all Chiroptera worldwide.
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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.
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There are over 260 species of carnivores, the majority of which feed primarily on meat. They have a characteristic skull shape and dentition.
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The odd-toed ungulates are browsing and grazing mammals. They are usually large to very large, and have relatively simple stomachs and a large middle toe.
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The even-toed ungulates are ungulates whose weight is borne about equally by the third and fourth toes, rather than mostly or entirely by the third as in perissodactyls. There are about 220 artiodactyl species, including many that are of great economic importance to humans.

Order: [Didelphimorphia] (common opossums)

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Didelphimorphia is the order of common opossums of the Western Hemisphere. Opossums probably diverged from the basic South American marsupials in the late Cretaceous or early Paleocene. They are small to medium-sized marsupials, about the size of a large house cat, with a long snout and prehensile tail.