The historical and recent distribution and status of mammals in Portugal

Abstract

<strong>Abstract</strong> Historical and recent data on Portuguese mammals are presented in this paper, occurring on the mainland and/or in the Azores and Madeira Atlantic islands. Nowadays, 95 species of mammals are known in Portugal, of which only one (<em>Nyctalus azoreum</em>) is an endemic species and three others (<em>Pipistrellus maderensis</em>, <em>Microtus cabrerae</em> and <em>Lynx pardina</em>) are exclusive for Portugal and Spain. Moreover, two other species, <em>Mustela vison</em> and <em>Sciurus vulgaris</em> are recent records for the Portuguese fauna, the first due to an accidental introduction and the second resulting from a recolonization by Spanish populations. Of the remaining species, around 50% (46 species) are threatened in different degrees, 34.8% (16 species) being considered endangered or vulnerable. Mammals extinct in Portugal are the Ger&#234;s goat (<em>Capra pyrenaica lusitanica</em>) and the bear (<em>Ursus arctos</em>).

Keywords

• Mammals
• Biodiversity
• Conservation