List of mammals of Tonga

This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Tonga. There are ten mammal species in Tonga, of which one is endangered and one is vulnerable.

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

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:

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: Pteropodidae (flying foxes, Old World fruit bats)
 * Subfamily: Pteropodinae
 * Genus: Pteropus
 * Insular flying-fox, Pteropus tonganus LR/lc
 * Family: Emballonuridae
 * Genus: Emballonura
 * Polynesian sheath-tailed bat, Emballonura semicaudata EN

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: Megapterinae
 * Genus: Megaptera
 * Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae VU
 * Suborder: Odontoceti
 * Superfamily: Platanistoidea
 * Family: Ziphidae
 * Subfamily: Hyperoodontinae
 * Genus: Mesoplodon
 * Blainville's beaked whale, Mesoplodon densirostris DD
 * Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale, Mesoplodon ginkgodens DD
 * Hector's beaked whale, Mesoplodon hectori DD
 * Family: Delphinidae (marine dolphins)
 * Genus: Stenella
 * Spinner dolphin, Stenella longirostris LR/cd
 * Genus: Lagenodelphis
 * Fraser's dolphin, Lagenodelphis hosei DD
 * Genus: Feresa
 * Pygmy killer whale, Feresa attenuata DD