List of mammals of Bahrain

This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Bahrain. Of the seven mammal species in Bahrain, two are considered vulnerable.

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature:

Order: Sirenia (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
 * Genus: Dugong
 * Dugong, D. dugon

Order: Lagomorpha (rabbits and hares)
While they may appear to be rodents, rabbits and hares belong in their own family, the lagomorphs.
 * Family: Leporidae
 * Genus: Lepus
 * Cape hare, L. capensis

Order: Chiroptera (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
 * Genus: Rhyneptesicus
 * Sind bat, R. nasutus

Order: Rodentia (rodents)
Rodents make up the largest order of mammals, with over 40% of mammalian species. 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 45 kg.


 * Suborder: Myomorpha
 * Family: Muridae (mice, rats, gerbils, etc.)
 * Genus: Gerbillus
 * Cheesman's gerbil, G. cheesmani
 * Wagner's gerbil, G. dasyurus
 * Dwarf gerbil, G. nanus
 * Genus: Meriones
 * Sundevall's jird, M. crassus
 * Genus: Mus
 * House mouse, M. musculus

Order: Eulipotyphla (shrews and hedgehogs)
Eulipotyphla comprises the hedgehogs and gymnures (family Erinaceidae, formerly also the order Erinaceomorpha) and true shrews (family Soricidae).


 * Family: Erinaceidae (hedgehogs)
 * Subfamily: Erinaceinae
 * Genus: Paraechinus
 * Desert hedgehog, P. aethiopicus
 * Family: Soricidae (shrews)
 * Subfamily: Crocidurinae
 * Genus: Suncus
 * Etruscan shrew, S. etruscus
 * House shrew, S. murinus

Order: Cetacea (whales)
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.


 * Suborder: Mysticeti
 * Family: Balaenopteridae
 * Subfamily: Balaenopterinae
 * Genus: Balaenoptera
 * Bryde's whale, B. edeni
 * Subfamily: Megapterinae
 * Genus: Megaptera
 * Humpback whale, M. novaeangliae
 * Suborder: Odontoceti
 * Superfamily: Platanistoidea
 * Family: Phocoenidae
 * Genus: Neophocaena
 * Finless porpoise, N. phocaenoides
 * Family: Delphinidae (marine dolphins)
 * Genus: Grampus
 * Risso's dolphin, G. griseus
 * Genus: Lagenodelphis
 * Fraser's dolphin, L. hosei
 * Genus: Orcinus
 * Orca, O. orca
 * Genus: Sousa
 * Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, S. chinensis
 * Indian Ocean humpbacked dolphin, S. plumbea
 * Genus: Stenella
 * Pantropical spotted dolphin, S. attenuata
 * Spinner dolphin, S. longirostris
 * Genus: Steno
 * Rough-toothed dolphin, S. bredanensis
 * Genus: Tursiops
 * Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, T. aduncus
 * Common bottlenose dolphin, T. truncatus

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
 * Family: Herpestidae (mongooses)
 * Genus: Urva
 * Indian grey mongoose, U. edwardsii

Order: Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates)
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.


 * Family: Bovidae (cattle, antelope, sheep, goats)
 * Subfamily: Antilopinae
 * Genus: Gazella
 * Arabian sand gazelle, G. marica
 * Subfamily: Hippotraginae
 * Genus: Oryx
 * Arabian oryx, O. leucoryx introduced