List of mammals of Greenland

This is a list of the native wild mammal species recorded in Greenland. There are 26 mammal species native to Greenland, of which none are critically endangered, three are endangered, three are vulnerable, two are near threatened and four are data deficient. Only seven of these species are fully terrestrial. Introduced species (e.g., the house mouse and brown rat) are not included.

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature; those on the left are used here, those on the right in some other articles:

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: Cricetidae
 * Subfamily: Arvicolinae
 * Genus: Dicrostonyx
 * Northern collared lemming, Dicrostonyx groenlandicus LC

Order: Lagomorpha (lagomorphs)
The lagomorphs comprise two families, Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and Ochotonidae (pikas). 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.


 * Family: Leporidae (rabbits, hares)
 * Genus: Lepus
 * Arctic hare, Lepus arcticus LC
 * Greenland Arctic hare, L. a. groenlandicus

Order: Carnivora (carnivorans)


There are over 260 species of carnivorans, the majority of which eat meat as their primary dietary item. They have a characteristic skull shape and dentition. Except for walruses and harbor seals, the pinnipeds of Greenland breed on pack ice or shore-fast ice. Walruses are the only local pinniped species to commonly consume warm-blooded prey.


 * Suborder: Caniformia
 * Family: Canidae (dogs, foxes)
 * Genus: Vulpes
 * Arctic fox, Vulpes lagopus LC
 * Greenland Arctic fox, V. l. foragorapusis
 * Genus: Canis
 * Gray wolf, Canis lupus LC
 * Greenland wolf, C. l. orion
 * Family: Ursidae (bears)
 * Genus: Ursus
 * Polar bear, Ursus maritimus VU
 * Family: Mustelidae (weasels and relatives)
 * Genus: Mustela
 * Beringian ermine, Mustela erminea LC
 * Clade Pinnipedia (seals, sea lions and walruses)
 * Family: Odobenidae
 * Genus: Odobenus
 * Walrus, Odobenus rosmarus VU
 * Family: Phocidae (earless seals)
 * Genus: Cystophora
 * Hooded seal, Cystophora cristata VU
 * Genus: Erignathus
 * Bearded seal, Erignathus barbatus LC
 * Genus: Pagophilus
 * Harp seal, Pagophilus groenlandicus LC
 * Genus: Phoca
 * Harbor seal, Phoca vitulina LC
 * Genus: Pusa
 * Ringed seal, Pusa hispida LC

Order: Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates and cetaceans)
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 noncetacean artiodactyl species, including many that are of great economic importance to humans. Reindeer hunting in Greenland has both cultural and economic significance.


 * Family: Cervidae (deer)
 * Subfamily: Capreolinae
 * Genus: Rangifer
 * Caribou, Rangifer tarandus VU
 * Barren-ground caribou, R. t. groenlandicus
 * Peary caribou, R. t. pearyi (?)
 * Family: Bovidae (cattle, antelope, sheep, goats)
 * Subfamily: Caprinae
 * Genus: Ovibos
 * Muskox, Ovibos moschatus LC

Order: Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises)


The infraorder 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. Their closest extant relatives are the hippos, which are artiodactyls, from which cetaceans descended; cetaceans are thus also artiodactyls.


 * Parvorder: Mysticeti
 * Family: Balaenidae
 * Genus: Balaena
 * Bowhead whale, Balaena mysticetus LC
 * Genus: Eubalaena
 * North Atlantic right whale, Eubalaena glacialis EN
 * Family: Balaenopteridae
 * Subfamily: Balaenopterinae
 * Genus: Balaenoptera
 * Northern minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata LC
 * North Atlantic minke whale, B. a. acutorostrata
 * Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus EN
 * Northern blue whale, B. m. musculus
 * Fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus VU
 * Northern fin whale, B. p. physalus
 * Subfamily: Megapterinae
 * Genus: Megaptera
 * Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae LC
 * Parvorder: Odontoceti
 * Superfamily: Platanistoidea
 * Family: Monodontidae
 * Genus: Monodon
 * Narwhal, Monodon monoceros LC
 * Genus: Delphinapterus
 * Beluga, Delphinapterus leucas LC
 * Family: Phocoenidae
 * Genus: Phocoena
 * Harbour porpoise, Phocoena phocoena LC
 * North Atlantic harbour porpoise, P. p. phocoena
 * Family: Physeteridae
 * Genus: Physeter
 * Sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus VU
 * Family: Ziphidae
 * Subfamily: Hyperoodontinae
 * Genus: Hyperoodon
 * Northern bottlenose whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus DD
 * Family: Delphinidae (marine dolphins)
 * Genus: Lagenorhynchus
 * White-beaked dolphin, Lagenorhynchus albirostris LC
 * Atlantic white-sided dolphin, Lagenorhynchus acutus LC
 * Genus: Tursiops
 * Common bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus LC
 * Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, T. t. truncatus
 * Genus: Stenella
 * Striped dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba LC
 * Genus: Orcinus
 * Orca, Orcinus orca DD
 * Genus: Globicephala
 * Long-finned pilot whale, Globicephala melas LC

Lists of Western Hemisphere mammals from north to south
List of mammals of Mexico

List of mammals of Antarctica