Extreme Mammals

Largest Mammal (in Sea, in the World, Current, Ever)


An adult Blue Whale

Scientific name: Balaenoptera musculus
Name: Blue Whale
Size: Up to 32.9 metres in length and weighs 172 metric tonnes
Habitat: North Atlantic and North Pacific (other subspecies live in Southern Ocean, Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean)
Remark: Endangered


Largest Mammal (on Land)


An African Bush Elephant

Scientific name: Loxodonta africana
Name: African Bush Elephant
Size: Up to 7.3 meters in length and 3.5 meters in height. Weighs up to 9,000 kg
Habitat: Eastern, Southern Africa (Forest and glasslands)
Remark: Near Threatened


Largest Mammal (on Land Ever)


Paraceratherium drawn by Charles R. Knight

Scientific name: Paraceratherium
Name: Paraceratherium
Size: Over 8m in length and up to 5.5 m tall at shoulder. Weighs over 10 metric tons to up to 20 metric tons.
Habitat: Many parts of Asia (Kazakhstan, Pakistan, India, Mongolia, and China) (Subtropical forests and woodlands)
Remark: Extinct. Exist during middle Oligocene to early Miocene, around 20 to 30 million years ago.


Smallest Mammal (by size or skull size)


Bumblebee Bat held by hand

Scientific name: Craseonycteris thonglongyai
Name: Kitti's Hog-nosed Bat or Bumblebee Bat
Size: 29–33 mm in length and 2 grams in mass
Habitat: Limestone caves along rivers, within dry evergreen or deciduous forests in Thailand and Burma
Remark: Group size in cave ranges from 10 to 15 individuals to up to 500. Average around 100.


Smallest Mammal (by weight)


Etruscan Shrew on hand

Scientific name: Suncus etruscus
Name: Etruscan Shrew
Size: 36 mm in length and 1.2–2.7 grams in mass
Habitat: Forests and brush areas between Southern Asia and Southern Europe
Remark: A forager with lifespan of 15 months


Smallest Mammal (in Sea)


A Sea Otter in Morro Bay

Scientific name: Enhydra lutris
Name: Sea Otter
Size: 1.0 to 1.4m in length and weighs 14 to 45 kg
Habitat: Western Pacific Ocean, Alaska and California region
Remark: Endangered


Fastest Mammal (on Land)


A Cheetah

Scientific name: Acinonyx jubatus
Name: Cheetah
Speed: 112-120 km/h for short distance of 460m
Size: 115 to 135 cm in length and weighing 40 to 65 kg
Habitat: Forests and brush areas between Southern Asia and Southern Europe
Remark: Accelerate from 0 to 110 km/h in 3 seconds


Fastest Mammal (in Sea)


Dall's Porpoise

Scientific name: Phocoenoides dalli
Name: Dall's Porpoise
Speed: Up to 55 km/h
Size: 2.3m in length and weighing between 130 and 200 kg.
Habitat: North Pacific Ocean from southern California to southern Japan
Remark: Live for up to 15 years


Slowest Mammal


Brown-throated Sloth (Bradypus variegatus) (a species of three-toed sloth)

Scientific name: Bradypodidae
Name: Three-toed Sloth
Speed: Max speed is 0.54 meters per second, but most time sleeping or little movement
Size: 50 and 60 cm long
Habitat: Tropical rainforests of South and Central America
Remark: Omnivores. They could eat insects, small lizards and carrion, but their diet consists mostly of buds, tender shoots, and leaves, mainly of Cecropia trees