There are 7 orders, 17 families, 40 genera, and 60 species represented among the mammals of New England. If extirpated, coastal, introduced, and accidental species are included these numbers increase to 8 orders, 26 families, 67 genera, and 105 species. The region includes the U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
The makeup and distribution of the mammals in New England are largely the result of the Last Glacial Maximum when the Laurentide Ice Sheet covered virtually the entire region. Recolonization of the area appears to have occurred from one or a few southern glacial refugia. This is in contrast to the multiple glacial refugia present throughout the American West (Stone and Cook, 2000). As a consequence of both the recent uninhabitability and the few sources of recolonization, species diversity for some taxa in parts of New England are lower than in similar areas in other parts of North America. Chipmunks and ground squirrels are exemplars of this situation. New England has one species of each, but numerous locations west of the Rocky Mountains host several species (Hall, 1981).
Habitat varies throughout the region. Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, in the north of the region, have a humid continental short summer climate, with cooler summers and long, cold winters. Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, in the south, have a humid continental long summer climate, with hot summers and cold winters. The average rainfall for most of the region is from 1,000 to 1,500 mm (40 to 60 in) a year, although the northern parts of Vermont and Maine see slightly less, from 500 to 1,000 mm (20 to 40 in). Snowfall can often exceed 2,500 mm (100 in) annually (New England Climate Initiative, 2006). Most mammals in this region exhibit specializations for dealing with the sometimes harsh winter conditions.
A comprehensive listing of all species found in the region follows.
Marsupials
Opossums, family Didelphidae
Virginia opossum, Didelphis virginiana Distribution: southern Maine, southern Vermont, southern New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island
Insectivores, order Eulipotyphla
Shrews, family Soricidae
Northern short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicauda Distribution: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Subspecies: Blarina brevicauda angusta (northern Maine), Blarina brevicauda pallida (north-central Maine), Blarina brevicauda hooperi (northern Green Mountains, Vermont), Blarina brevicauda talpoides (southern and central Maine, New Hampshire, most of Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island), Blarina brevicauda compacta (Nantucket Island), and Blarina brevicauda aloga (Martha's Vineyard) according to Hall (1981). Whitaker and Hamilton (1998) argue that B. b. angusta, B. b. pallida, B. b. hooperi, and B. b. talpoides are not valid subspecies and should be synonymized with B. b. brevicauda. Hutterer (2005), however, recognizes all of these as valid subspecies. North American least shrew, Cryptotis parva Distribution: southern Connecticut. Masked shrew, Sorex cinereus Distribution: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Subspecies: Sorex cinereus cinereus according to Hall (1981) and Whitaker and Hamilton (1998). Long-tailed shrew, Sorex dispar Distribution: northwestern Maine, all but southeastern New Hampshire, all but northeastern Vermont, western Massachusetts, and western Connecticut. Subspecies: Sorex dispar dispar according to Hall (1981) and Whitaker and Hamilton (1998). Smoky shrew, Sorex fumeus Distribution: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Subspecies: Sorex fumeus umbrosus (all but southernmost Maine, northernmost New Hampshire, and northern Vermont) and Sorex fumeus fumeus (southernmost Maine, central and southern New Hampshire, southern Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island) according to Hall (1981). Whitaker and Hamilton (1998) do not recognize S. f. umbrosus as a valid subspecies and consider all New England Sorex fumeus to be S. f. fumeus. Hutterer (2005), however, recognizes S. f. umbrosus as a valid subspecies. Pygmy shrew, Sorex hoyi Distribution: all but the southern tip of Maine, central and northern New Hampshire, and all but southeastern Vermont, extreme western Massachusetts. Subspecies: Sorex hoyi thompsoni according to Hall (1981) and Whitaker and Hamilton (1998). American water shrew, Sorex palustris Distribution: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Subspecies: Sorex palustris gloveralleni (easternmost Maine) and Sorex palustris albibarbis (all but easternmost Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island) according to Hall (1981). Whitaker and Hamilton (1998) argue that both S. p. gloveralleni and S. p. albibarbis are not valid subspecies and all New England forms belong to the subspecies S. p. palustris. Hutterer (2005), however, treats S. p. gloveralleni and S. p. albibarbis as valid subspecies. Eastern water shrew, Sorex albibarbis Distribution: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Subspecies: S. p. albibarbis, S. p. gloveralleni, and S. p. labradorensis. It is possible that S. p. punctulatus and S. p. turneri are not valid subspecies.
Moles, family Talpidae
Hairy-tailed mole, Parascalops breweri Distribution: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, northern and western Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Eastern mole, Scalopus aquaticus Distribution: central and southern Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Subspecies: Scalopus aquaticus aquaticus according to Hall (1981) and Whitaker and Hamilton (1998). Star-nosed mole, Condylura cristata Distribution: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Subspecies: Condylura cristata cristata according to Hall (1981) and Whitaker and Hamilton (1998).
Bats, order Chiroptera
Vesper bats, family Vespertilionidae
Eastern small-footed bat, Myotis leibii Distribution: central Maine, central New Hampshire, central Vermont, western Massachusetts. Status: endangered in New Hampshire; threatened in Vermont (Whitaker and Hamilton, 1998). Little brown bat, Myotis lucifugus Distribution: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Subspecies: Myotis lucifugus lucifugus according to Hall (1981) and Whitaker and Hamilton (1998). Northern long-eared bat, Myotis septentrionalis Distribution: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Indiana bat, Myotis sodalis Distribution: southeastern and central New Hampshire, southern and central Vermont, western and central Massachusetts, all but southern Connecticut, northeastern Rhode Island. Status: federally endangered (Whitaker and Hamilton, 1998). Silver-haired bat, Lasionycteris noctivagans Distribution (summer): Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, northern and central Massachusetts. Distribution (winter): southeastern Connecticut. Eastern pipistrelle, Perimyotis subflavus Distribution: southern New Hampshire, all but northeastern Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Subspecies: Perimyotis subflavus subflavus according to Hall (1981) and Whitaker and Hamilton (1998). Big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus Distribution: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Subspecies: Eptesicus fuscus fuscus according to Hall (1981) and Whitaker and Hamilton (1998). Eastern red bat, Lasiurus borealis Distribution (summer): Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Subspecies: Lasiurus borealis borealis according to Hall (1981) and Whitaker and Hamilton (1998). Hoary bat, Lasiurus cinereus Distribution (summer, predominantly females): northern Maine, all but southeastern New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts. Subspecies: Lasiurus cinereus cinereus according to Hall (1981) and Whitaker and Hamilton (1998).
Lagomorphs, order Lagomorpha
Rabbits and hares, family Leporidae
Snowshoe hare, Lepus americanus Distribution: all but the southern tip of Maine, all but the southeastern New Hampshire, Vermont, most of Massachusetts, northern Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Subspecies: Lepus americanus struthopus (northern Maine) and Lepus americanus virginianus (central Maine, all but southeastern New Hampshire, Vermont, and northeastern Massachusetts) according to Hall (1981). Whitaker and Hamilton (1998) argue that both L. a. struthopus and L. a. virginianus are not valid subspecies and should be synonymized with L. a. americanus. Hoffman and Smith (2005), however, recognize both L. a. struthopus and L. a. virginianus as valid subspecies. Black-tailed jackrabbit, Lepus californicus (introduced) Distribution: Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. European hare, Lepus europaeus (introduced) Distribution: southwesternmost corner of Massachusetts and central and western Connecticut (persistence of population is in dispute). Eastern cottontail, Sylvilagus floridanus Distribution: southern tip of Maine, southern New Hampshire, all but northeastern Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Subspecies: Sylvilagus floridanus mallurus (southern New Hampshire, southeastern Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island) and Sylvilagus floridanus mearnsi (central and western Vermont) according to Hall (1981). Whitaker and Hamilton (1998) argue that both S. f. mallurus and S. f. mearnsi are not valid subspecies and should be synonymized with S. f. floridanus. Hoffman and Smith (2005), however, recognize both S. f. mallurus and S. f. mearnsi as valid subspecies. New England cottontail, Sylvilagus transitionalis Distribution: southeast Maine, southwest and Cape Cod Massachusetts, central New Hampshire, western and eastern Connecticut, and Rhode Island. European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus (introduced, feral) Distribution: Boston Harbor Islands, Massachusetts.
Rodents, order Rodentia Squirrels, chipmunks, and marmots, family Sciuridae
Eastern chipmunk, Tamias striatus Distribution: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Subspecies: Tamias striatus lysteri (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, most of Massachusetts, northeastern Connecticut, and northern Rhode Island) and Tamias striatus fisheri (extreme southern Massachusetts, southern and central Connecticut, southern Rhode Island) according to Hall (1981). Whitaker and Hamilton (1998) argue that both T. s. lysteri and T. s. fisheri are not valid subspecies and should be synonymized with T. s. striatus. Thorrington and Hoffman (2005), however, recognize both T. s. lysteri and T. s. fisheri as valid subspecies. Woodchuck, Marmota monax Distribution: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Subspecies: Marmota monax canadensis (northern Maine, northern Vermont), Marmota monax rufescens (extreme western Maine, northern and southwestern New Hampshire, north central and southern Vermont, western Massachusetts, and southwestern Connecticut)), and Marmota monax preblorum (central and southern Maine, central and southeastern New Hampshire, west central Vermont, eastern Massachusetts, northwestern Connecticut, and Rhode Island) according to Hall (1981). Whitaker and Hamilton (1998) argue that M. m. canadensis and M. m. rufescens, and M. m. preblorum are not valid subspecies and should be synonymized with M. m. monax. Thorrington and Hoffman (2005), however, recognize M. m. canadensis and M. m. rufescens, but not M. m. preblorum, as valid subspecies. Eastern gray squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis Distribution: central and southern Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.