List of mammals found at John Day Fossil Beds

Class Mammalia

Order Insectivora

Family Sorcidae [Shrews]

Sorex vagrans – Vagrant Shrew

Habitat: Prefers damp areas, such as marshes, wet meadows,

ditch bottoms and sides. Rare in upper parts of mountains,

more of a lowland species.

Sorex monticolus – Dusky Shrew

Habitat: Wet places along streams and in marshy, boggy areas

in mountains, also in rockslides and outcroppings.

Sorex merriami – Merriam’s Shrew

Habitat: Sagebrush and grasslands, particularly sage grass and

undisturbed bunchgrass types.

Sorex palustris – Northern Water Shrew

Habitat: In and along mountain and foothill streams and beaver

ponds.

Sorex cinereus – Preble’s Shrew

Habitat: Brush and willow growth around springs, bogs,

marshes and along streams. Often in open coniferous timber.

Family Talpidae [Moles]

Scapanus orarius – Coast Mole

Habitat: Prefers drier, brushier and more timbered areas.

Order Chiroptera

Family Vespertilionidae [Evening Bats]

Euderma maculatum-Spotted Bat

Habitat: These bats are found in high land ponderosa pine regions in early summer. They descend to lower-elevation deserts in august. ( From: Mammals of Washington and Oregon, Lone Pine Press )

Myotis lucifugus – Little Brown Bat

Habitat: Found in a variety of places, most commonly seen near water and may roost in caves.

Myotis yamanensis – Yuma Brown Bat

Habitat: Always near ponds, streams and lakes. By day

under sidings or shingles, night roosts in caves.

Myotis evotis – Long-eared Brown Bat

Habitat: Mostly forested and wooded areas in lowlands

and mountains.

Myotis volans – Long-legged Brown Bat

Habitat: Trees, crevices and buildings, particularly in

forested and wooded areas.

Myotis californicus – California Brown Bat

Habitat: Variety of wooded or forested areas, mostly near

water.

Myotis leibii – Small-footed Brown Bat

Habitat: Open, arid, and desert type areas. Roosts in rocky

crevices, caves, mines and old buildings. Forages commonly

over water.

Lasionycteris Noctivagans – Silver-haired Bat

Habitat: Forested areas at all elevations, preferring clearings,

open waterways and lakes.

Pipistrellus hesperus – Western Pipistrelle

Habitat: River canyons in the desert areas.

Eptesicus fuscus – Big Brown Bat

Habitat: Forested areas near water, farmsteads and urban

areas in and near towns.

Lasiurus cinereus – Hoary Bat

Habitat: Openings in forests, as well as wooded residential

areas in cities and towns. Often begins flying in late afternoon.

Piecotus townsendii – Townsend’s Big-eared Bat

Habitat: Occurs in a variety of places, particularly those with

caves, abandoned mine shafts, old buildings and crevices in

cliffs.

Antrozous pallidus – Pallid Bat

Habitat: River canyons in semi-arid and desert regions. Roosts

in caves, old buildings and cliff crevices.

Order Lagomorpha

Family Ochotonidae [Pikas, Rabbits and Hares]

Ochotona princeps – Common Pika

Habitat: Talus slopes and rocky outcrops in the mountains and

certain lava bed areas.

Family Leporidae

Sylvilagus idahoensis – Pygmy Rabbit

Habitat: Tall, dense sagebrush or greasewood.

Sylvilagus nutallii – Nuttall’s Cottontail

Habitat: Sagebrush, dry gullies, canyons weed and tall grass

patches, brushy thickets and orchards. Mostly at low

elevations.

Lepus americanus – Snowshoe Hare

Habitat: Forested areas, woodland swamps and brush patches.

Lepus townsendii - White-tailed Jack Rabbit

Habitat:Grasslands and higher grassy sagebrush of the foothills

and lower mountains.

Lepus californicus – Black-tailed Jack Rabbit

Habitat: Sagebrush, lower foothill grasslands and adjacent hay

fields. Populations have become greatly reduced.

Order Rodentia

Family Scuiridae [Squirrels]

Eutamius minimus – Least Chipmunk

Habitat: Sagebrush areas and lodgepole pine.

Eutamius amoenus – Yellow Pine Chipmunk

Habitat: Open to semi-open coniferous forests, clearings,

large brushy areas, and rocky places from lowlands to high

mountains.

Marmota Flaviventris – Yellow-bellied Marmot

Habitat: Talus slides, outcroppingss, rimrock, old log piles,

under old buildings, and in burrows in cut banks.

Spermophilus townsendii – Townsend’s Ground Squirrel

Habitat: Mixed sagegrass areas expecially where small patches

of grass occur in the sagebrush. Colonies often located on

hillsides. Prefers hotter, drier areas.

Spermophilus beldingi – Belding’s Ground Squirrel

Habitat: Meadows and open juniper slopes, sparse timber, and brush.

Spermophilus lateralis – Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel

Habitat: Open coniferous forest, clearings, and rocky

outcroppings. Particularly familiar in campgrounds and picnic areas.

Tamiascurus douglasii – Douglas Squirrel

Habitat: Primarily coniferous forests.

Spermophilus washintoni – Washington Ground Squirrel

Habitat: Grasslands either extensive or scattered throughout

sagebrush, as well as roadside ditches and edges of grain fields.

Spermophilus columbianus – Columbian Ground Squirrel

Habitat: Grasslands, meadows, and grain fields.

Tamiascurus hudsonicus – Red Squirrel

Habitat: Primarily coniferous forests.

Glaucomys sabrinus – Northern Flying Squirrel

Habitat: Prefers coniferous forests, frequenting and most

common in the denser portions where the thick canopy lessens

the penetration of light.

Family Geomyidae [Pocket Gophers]

Thomomys talpoides – Northern Pocket Gopher

Habitat: Open to semi-open areas particularly meadow,

grasslands and pastures where soft soil is present for

burrowing.

Thomomys townsendii – Townsend’s Pocket Gopher

Habitat: Moist river valleys and irrigated regions. Frequents

sides of ditches and irrigation canals. Found in very restricted

areas.

Family Heteromyidae [Pocket Mice]

Perognathus parvus – Great Basin Pocket Mouse

Habitat: Sagebrush, bitterbrush, and rabbitbrush areas

as well as grassy places and nearby grain fields.

Dipodomys ordii – Ord’s Kangaroo Rat

Habitat: Open sandy or soft soil areas with sparse cover of

vegetation, such as sagebrush, forbs or grasses.

Family Castoridae [Beaver]

Castor canadensis – Beaver

Habitat: Semi-aquatic, restricting itself closely to streams and

standing water such as ponds and small lakes.

Family Criceditae [New World Rats and Mice]

Reithrodontomys megalotus – Western Harvest Mouse

Habitat: Dense grass in dry, open, semi-desert areas.

Peromyscus crinitus – Canyon Mouse

Habitat: Rocky slides and crevices in cliffs in hot, dry

canyons in open, desert country.

Peromyscus maniculatus – Deer Mouse

Habitat: Prefers coniferous forests, can also be found in grain

fields, weedy fence rows and ditches, sagebrush and slide rock.

Onychomys leucogaster – Northern Grasshopper Mouse

Habitat: Mostly restricted to sagebrush.

Neptoma cinerea – Bushy-tailed Woodrat

Habitat: Prefers slide rock, cliff and canyon areas, caves, mines

and old abandoned buildings. Found both in foresed and open

desert regions.

Microtus longicaudus – Long-tailed Meadow Mouse

Habitat: Isolated, moist, grassy areas along streams or ditches,

sagebrush plains and bunchgrass prairies.

Peromyscus truci – Pinyon Mouse

Habitat: Open forest areas, juniper, brush and rocky areas.

Lagarus curtatus – Sagebrush Vole

Habitat: Grassy sagebrush and bunchgrass. Could use

hollowed out cow chips for shelter.

Phenacomys intermedius – Heather Vole

Habitat: Found in a wide range of habitats, though prefers

open, forest vegetation in drier sites near water.

Arvicola richardsoni – Water Vole

Habitat: Restricted to stream banks, moist meadows, and lake

shores in forested mountain areas.

Microtus montanus – Montane Vole

Habitat: Moist, weedy, or brushy areas near water at edge of

grasslands.

Ondatra zibethicus – Muskrat

Habitat: Marshes, swamps, streams, rivers, and lakes mostly

in the lowlands.

Family Zapodidae [Jumping Mice]

Zapus princeps – Western Jumping Mouse

Habitat: Wet meadows, bogs, streamside brush, and grassy

places near water and forested areas.

Family Muridae [Old World Rats and Mice]

Mus musculus – House Mouse

Habitat: Widespread distribution wherever man exists.

Family Erethizontidae [Porcupines]

Erethizon dorsatum – Porcupine

Habitat: Mostly restricted to coniferous forests, especially

the more open stands. May occur in deciduous woods and

occasionally away from timber in sagebrush.

Order Carnivora

Family Canidae [Wolves, Foxes and Coyote]

Canis latrans – Coyote

Habitat: Most numerous in open prairies or desert type

environments. Less common but present in denser forest

areas.

Canis lupus – Gray Wolf

Habitat: May occur in all types of natural, terrestrial habitat.

Numbers are greatly reduced and is extremely rare.

Vulpes vulpes – Red Fox

Habitat: Occurs in a variety of habitats, though preferring

semi-open terrain of foothills and mountains.

Urocyon cinereoargenteus – Gray Fox

Habitat: Open timber, brush, rocks and cliffs.

Family Ursidae [Bears]

Ursus americanus – Black Bear

Habitat: Prefers forested or wooded habitats, as well as

swamps. Commonly visit open berry patches in burned or

subalpine areas when the fruit is ripe.

Family Procynoidae [Raccoons]

Procyon lotor – Raccoon

Habitat: Brushy or wooded areas near water at low elevations.

Family Mustelidae [Weasels, Skunks, Badgers and Otters]

Martes americana – Marten

Habitat: Occurs very rarely in the coniferous forests, mostly of

mountains where they frequent the ridges and subalpine woods.

Martes pennati – Fisher

Habitat: Occurs scatteringly and through undisturbed forest

areas at low to intermediate elevations.

Mustela erminea – Short-tailed Weasel

Habitat: Occurs in a variety of habitats, though usually stays

close to stream bottoms, rock slides, fence rows, and brush

near water.

Mustela frenata – Long-tailed Weasel

Habitat: Found in a variety of habitats but prefers drier

uplands of grass, forest and rock at all elevations.

Mustela vison – Mink

Habitat: Occurs mostly near water where the diet of

muskrats, fish, frogs and other aquatic animals are

available.

Taxidea taxus – Badger

Habitat: Occurs in open to semi-open country, such as sage-

brush and grassland plains.

Spilogale putorius – Spotted Skunk

Habitat: Prefers brush, canyons, farmlands and farm buildings.

Mephitus mephitus – Striped Skunk

Habitat: Found commonly all throughout range, prefers

marshes, farming land, and riparian growth alongs streams

in dry country.

Lutra canadensis – River Otter

Habitat: Prefers lakes shores, rivers, and larger streams. Rare

in occurance.

Gulo gulo – Wolverine

Habitat: Great wanderer, most likely to be seen in coniferous

timbered areas especially in mountains.

Family Felidae [Cats]

Felis concolor – Cougar

Habitat: Prefers mountain forests and semi-wooded canyon

areas where deer are available. Greatly reduced in numbers.

Felis lynx – Lynx

Habitat: Dense coniferous forests. Extremely rare and reduced

in numbers.

Felis rufus – Bobcat

Habitat: Common in broken, rocky areas and logged over

forest land.

Order Artiodactyla

Family Cervidae [Deer and Elk]

Cervus elaphus – Elk

Habitat: Found mostly in mountain or foothill areas, preferring

the semi-open forests.

Odocoileus hemionus – Mule Deer

Habitat: Rocky, brushy areas and open meadows. Occasionally

found in scattered coniferous groves in open desert country.

Odocoileus virginianus – White-tailed Deer

Habitat: Dense forests, deciduous woods and extensive brushy

places at low to intermediate elevations mostly near water.

Family Antilocapridae [Pronghorn]

Antilocapra americana – Pronghorn Antelope

Habitat: Prefers open sage and grassland plains.

Family Bovidae [Bison, Goats, Muskox and Sheep]

Ovis canadensis – Big Horn Sheep

Habitat: Restricted to open meadows and grassy slopes near cliffs

and rocky ridges in the mountains.