Field Guide to Illinois Mammals

Joyce E. Hofmann is a research affiliate at the Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign.

• Acknowledgments Introduction About This Book Checklist of Illinois Mammals Key to the Skulls of Illinois Mammal Orders Species Accounts Order DIDELPHIMORPHIA Family Didelphidae - opossums Virginia opossum Didelphis virginiana Order SORICOMORPHA Family Talpidae - moles eastern mole Scalopus aquaticus Family Soricidae - shrews masked shrew Sorex cinereus American pygmy shrew Sorex hoyi southeastern shrew Sorex longirostris northern short-tailed shrew Blarina brevicauda southern short-tailed shrew Blarina carolinensis North American least shrew Cryptotis parva Order CHIROPTERA Family Vespertilionidae - bats southeastern bat Myotis austroriparius gray bat Myotis grisescens eastern small-footed bat Myotis leibii little brown bat Myotis lucifugus northern long-eared bat Myotis septentrionalis Indiana bat Myotis sodalis eastern red bat Lasiurus borealis hoary bat Lasiurus cinereus silver-haired bat Lasionycteris noctivagans tricolored bat Perimyotis subflavus big brown bat Eptesicus fuscus evening bat Nycticeius humeralis Rafinesque's big-eared bat Corynorhinus rafinesquii Order CINGULATA Family Dasypodidae - armadillos nine-banded armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus Order LAGOMORPHA Family Leporidae - rabbits swamp rabbit Sylvilagus aquaticus eastern cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus Order RODENTIA Family Sciuridae - squirrels eastern chipmunk Tamias striatus woodchuck Marmota monax Franklin's ground squirrel Poliocitellus franklinii thirteen-lined ground squirrel Ictidomys tridecemlineatus eastern gray squirrel Sciurus carolinensis eastern fox squirrel Sciurus niger red squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus southern flying squirrel Glaucomys volans Family Geomyidae - pocket gophers plains pocket gopher Geomys bursarius Family Castoridae - beavers American beaver Castor canadensis Family Cricetidae - mice, rats, voles marsh rice rat Oryzomys palustris western harvest mouse Reithrodontomys megalotis cotton mouse Peromyscus gossypinus white-footed mouse Peromyscus leucopus North American deer mouse Peromyscus maniculatus golden mouse Ochrotomys nuttalli eastern woodrat Neotoma floridana prairie vole Microtus ochrogaster meadow vole Microtus pennsylvanicus woodland vole Microtus pinetorum muskrat Ondatra zibethicus southern bog lemming Synaptomys cooperi Family Muridae - Old World mice and rats brown rat Rattus norvegicus house mouse Mus musculus Family Dipodidae - jumping mice meadow jumping mouse Zapus hudsonius Order CARNIVORA Family Canidae - foxes, coyote coyote Canis latrans red fox Vulpes vulpes gray fox Urocyon cinereoargenteus Family Mustelidae - weasels, otters, badgers long-tailed weasel Mustela frenata least weasel Mustela nivalis American mink Neovison vison American badger Taxidea taxus North American river otter Lontra canadensis Family Mephitidae - skunks striped skunk Mephitis mephitis Family Procyonidae - raccoons raccoon Procyon lotor Family Felidae - cats bobcat Lynx rufus Order ARTIODACTYLA Family Cervidae - deer white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus Additional Resources Glossary Index

“As a field biologist for the Illinois Natural History Survey, I had easy access to mammalogists. Even though retired, I am still roaming the state, and I still have a mammalogist at my fingertips, Joyce Hofmann’s Mammals of Illinois. Not only does it contain relevant identification information but also fascinating mammal facts. It will definitely be in my field pack.”–Susan L. Post, author of Hiking Illinois