BFS Mammals

NOTES:

Species. Species that are not native to the area are designated with an dagger (†).

Photos. Links labeled ‘BFS’ lead to iNaturalist observations of that species made at the Bernard Field Station. Please refer to copyright information in the images for allowed uses. Note that no photos taken at the BFS may be used for commercial purposes without the express permission of the BFS Director.

‘CP’ links will return all photographs of the listed taxon in the CalPhotos, Digital Library Project database. Note that you must check the stipulations with each photograph for permissible uses of the CalPhotos images.

Common name	Species name	Photos*	Conservation Status*	Notes
Opossums (Didelphidae):
Virginia Opossum†	Didelphis virginiana†	CP		The Virginia opossum was not originally native to California. It was intentionally introduced into the West during the Great Depression, probably as a source of food.
Free-tailed Bats (Molossidae):
Mexican Free-tailed Bat	Tadarida brasiliensis	CP
Evening Bats (Vespertilionidae):
Big Brown Bat	Eptesicus fuscus	CP
Silver-haired Bat	Lasionycteris noctivagans
Hoary Bat	Lasiurus cinereus	CP
Yuma Myotis	Myotis yumanensis
Canyon Bat	Parastrellus hesperus	CP		Formerly Pipistrellus hesperus. Previously observed at the BFS but not confirmed since 2001.
Hares & Rabbits (Leporidae):
San Diego Black-tailed Hare	Lepus californicus	CP		Observed historically on the BFS, but has not been confirmed since 1990.
Desert Cottontail	Sylvilagus audubonii	BFS, CP
Squirrels (Sciuridae):
Merriam’s Chipmunk	Neotamias merriami	BFS, CP		Probably accidental. The only record is of one captured by a trail cam. There is no evidence that they are established on the BFS.
California Ground Squirrel	Otospermophilus beecheyi	BFS, CP
Western Gray Squirrel	Sciurus griseus	BFS, CP
Fox squirrel†	Sciurus niger†	BFS, CP		Eastern fox squirrels were introduced to Los Angeles around 1904 and have since spread. The first documented sighting at BFS was in 2009, and although they have been seen occasionally since, they have not established at the BFS.
Pocket Gophers (Geomyidae):
Botta’s Pocket Gopher	Thomomys bottae	BFS, CP
Pocket Mice & Kangaroo Rats (Heteromyidae):
Pacific Kangaroo Rat	Dipodomys agilis	BFS
New World Rats, Mice, Voles, & Relatives (Cricetidae):
California Vole	Microtus californicus	BFS, CP
San Diego Desert Woodrat	Neotoma bryanti	BFS, CP	SSC	Formerly Neotoma lepida intermedia.
Big-Eared Woodrat	Neotoma macrotis			Formerly Neotoma fuscipes macrotis, now elevated to a separate species.
California Mouse	Peromyscus californicus			Observed historically on the BFS, but has not been confirmed since 1990.
Cactus Mouse	Peromyscus eremicus	CP		Observed historically on the BFS, but has not been confirmed since 1990.
Deer Mouse	Peromyscus maniculatus	BFS, CP
Western Harvest Mouse	Reithrodontomys megalotis	BFS, CP
Old World Rats & Mice (Muridae):
Norway Rat†	Rattus norvegicus†	CP
Roof Rat, Black Rat†	Rattus rattus†	CP
House Mouse†	Mus musculus†	CP
Dogs & Foxes (Canidae):
Domestic Dog†	Canis familiaris†
Coyote	Canis latrans	BFS, CP
California Grey Fox	Urocyon cinereoargenteus	CP
Raccoons & Coatis (Procyonidae):
Raccoon	Procyon lotor	BFS, CP
Weasels (Mustelidae):
Long-tailed Weasel	Mustela frenata	CP		Observed historically on the BFS, but has not been confirmed since 1980.
Skunks (Mephitidae):
Striped Skunk	Mephitis mephitis	CP
Western Spotted Skunk	Spilogale gracilis	CP
Cats (Felidae):
Domestic Cat†	Felis catus†	BFS
Bobcat	Lynx rufus	BFS, CP
*Key: Conservation Status: SSC = Species of Special Concern according to California Department of Fish & Wildlife Special Animals List [pdf] – July 2023 Links to Photos and Descriptions: BFS = Photos of mammals taken at the Robert J. Bernard Biological Field Station. CP = CalPhotos, Digital Library Project, UC Berkeley. Clicking the CalPhotos link for a listing will return a display of all photos for that taxon. If you want to use any of these photos, be sure to check the guidelines for Using the Photos in CalPhotos