Current Mammal Diversity Database checklist

Current species-level checklist from the Mammal Diversity Database (MDD).

Usage

mdd_checklist

Format

A tibble with 6,871 rows and 52 variables in the MDD v2.4 release, with source column names normalized to snake_case during data import. Variables and their original camelCase equivalents:

sci_name

(sciName) Unique genus–epithet key joined by an underscore; derived programmatically from genus and specific_epithet.

id

(id) Unique integer identifier used for indexing and permalinking. Initial batch (14 Sep 2020) was numbered from 1,000,001 upward when sorted by phylosort; subsequent additions start at 1,006,485.

phylosort

(phylosort) Numeric sort key ordering the 27 extant mammal orders according to the phylogenetic hierarchy in Figure 1 of the Illustrated Checklist of the Mammals of the World (2020).

main_common_name

(mainCommonName) Primary vernacular name following the Handbook of the Mammals of the World style conventions: all words capitalised except pre-hyphen elements; "and" constructions use hyphens (e.g. Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur); directional modifiers are not hyphenated (e.g. Southwestern Myotis).

other_common_names

(otherCommonNames) Pipe-separated (|) list of additional vernacular names documented in the literature, following the same formatting rules as main_common_name; primarily English, but widely used names from other languages are occasionally included.

subclass

(subclass) Taxonomic subclass; NA when not applicable.

infraclass

(infraclass) Taxonomic infraclass; NA when not applicable.

magnorder

(magnorder) Taxonomic magnorder; NA when not applicable.

superorder

(superorder) Taxonomic superorder; NA when not applicable.

order

(order) Taxonomic order; present for all taxa.

suborder

(suborder) Taxonomic suborder; NA when not applicable; "incertae sedis" for taxa unassigned within an order that uses suborders.

infraorder

(infraorder) Taxonomic infraorder; NA when not applicable; "incertae sedis" when applicable but unassigned.

parvorder

(parvorder) Taxonomic parvorder; NA when not applicable; "incertae sedis" when applicable but unassigned.

superfamily

(superfamily) Taxonomic superfamily; NA when not applicable; "incertae sedis" when applicable but unassigned.

family

(family) Taxonomic family; present for all taxa.

subfamily

(subfamily) Taxonomic subfamily; NA when not applicable; "incertae sedis" when applicable but unassigned.

tribe

(tribe) Taxonomic tribe; NA when not applicable; "incertae sedis" when applicable but unassigned.

subtribe

(subtribe) Taxonomic subtribe; NA when not applicable; "incertae sedis" when applicable but unassigned.

genus

(genus) Taxonomic genus; present for all taxa.

subgenus

(subgenus) Taxonomic subgenus; NA when not applicable; "incertae sedis" when applicable but unassigned.

specific_epithet

(specificEpithet) Taxonomic species epithet.

authority_species_author

(authoritySpeciesAuthor) Author surname(s) of the original species description, sourced from Species_Syn_Current; all authors on the author line are included, with an Oxford comma before the last name when three or more authors are present; an "in" statement is added when the work appears in a volume with different editors; shared surnames are disambiguated by initials or full middle names; Chinese, Korean, and Indochinese names are written out in full with surname first and hyphens removed.

authority_species_year

(authoritySpeciesYear) Year of the original species description, sourced from Species_Syn_Current.

authority_parentheses

(authorityParentheses) Parenthesis flag: 0 = no parentheses; 1 = authority in parentheses (indicating the species was originally described under a different genus).

original_name_combination

(originalNameCombination) Name combination exactly as it appears in the original description, sourced from Species_Syn_Current.

authority_species_citation

(authoritySpeciesCitation) Full or abbreviated literature citation for the authority publication; APA format when verified by PDF or physical copy, abbreviated otherwise.

authority_species_link

(authoritySpeciesLink) URL to the authority publication or abstract page; Biodiversity Heritage Library page-level links are preferred when available; DOIs are used for recent publications.

type_voucher

(typeVoucher) Museum catalogue number(s) of the type series (holotype, syntypes, lectotype, or neotype); blank when type material has not been verified; multiple syntypes are listed when applicable.

type_kind

(typeKind) Category of type specimen listed in type_voucher: one of "holotype", "syntypes", "lectotype", "neotype", or "nonexistent" (the last value is used when the MDD team has confirmed no type material exists); blank when existence of type material has not been verified.

type_voucher_ur_is

(typeVoucherURIs) Pipe-separated links to type material records in external museum collection databases.

type_locality

(typeLocality) Geographic locality where the holotype was collected or observed; edited place names follow CMW 2020 and are updated to current taxonomy; format may not match Species_Syn_Current as standardisation is ongoing.

type_locality_latitude

(typeLocalityLatitude) Latitude of the type locality in decimal degrees; sourced from the original description or via georeferencing (web search or GeoLocate).

type_locality_longitude

(typeLocalityLongitude) Longitude of the type locality in decimal degrees; sourced as for type_locality_latitude.

nominal_names

(nominalNames) Pipe-separated list of all available and unavailable specific epithets subsumed under the current species concept, each with authority and year; names originally described in a different genus are shown in parentheses; reasons for unavailability are noted in brackets; gender changes are also noted.

taxonomy_notes

(taxonomyNotes) Semicolon-separated notes by MDD staff documenting taxonomic changes.

taxonomy_notes_citation

(taxonomyNotesCitation) Pipe- separated APA citations supporting the changes described in taxonomy_notes.

distribution_notes

(distributionNotes) Detailed distributional narrative including notes on recently introduced populations; uses abbreviations: Mt/Mts, I/Is, N, S, E, W, C, and combinations (e.g. NW). Not currently curated — reserved for future use.

distribution_notes_citation

(distributionNotesCitation) Pipe-separated citations supporting distribution_notes. Not currently curated — reserved for future use.

subregion_distribution

(subregionDistribution) Pipe- separated (|) list of countries with native or reintroduced extant populations; subnational regions (currently US states only) are appended in parentheses and comma-separated; uncertain or possibly extinct occurrences are marked with ?.

country_distribution

(countryDistribution) Pipe-separated list of countries where the species has a native or ancient (pre-1500 CE) introduced distribution; recent introductions are excluded; uncertain presences marked with ?; domesticated species are listed as "Domesticated"; extinct species reflect their post-1500 CE range; marine species list coastal or riverine countries.

continent_distribution

(continentDistribution) Pipe- separated list of continents following the same rules as country_distribution; recognised values: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America, Domesticated; continental boundaries follow MDD-specific definitions (e.g. Asia–Europe split at Ural/Caucasus Mts and Ural River; Oceania east of Weber's Line).

biogeographic_realm

(biogeographicRealm) Pipe-separated list of biogeographic realms where the species occurs, following the same inclusion rules as country_distribution; realm boundaries follow the WWF schema (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biogeographic_realm).

iucn_status

(iucnStatus) IUCN Red List status matched to MDD species and updated to current taxonomy (IUCN 2025-2 assessment); "NE" = not yet evaluated; standard IUCN acronyms otherwise; 19 domestic species are also not evaluated.

extinct

(extinct) Extinction flag: 0 = extant; 1 = extinct after 1500 CE (following the IUCN criterion).

domestic

(domestic) Domestication flag: 0 = wild; 1 = domesticated (19 species including Homo sapiens); follows the nomenclatural guidelines of Gentry, Clutton-Brock & Groves (2004, J. Archaeol. Sci. 31(5): 645–651).

flagged

(flagged) Taxonomic quality flag: 0 = valid; 1 = flagged as taxonomically questionable or actively debated in the literature.

cmw_sci_name

(CMW_sciName) Genus–epithet key from the Illustrated Checklist of the Mammals of the World (CMW), formatted identically to sci_name.

diff_since_cmw

(diffSinceCMW) CMW comparison flag: 0 = species present in CMW 2020 taxonomy; 1 = species new since CMW 2020.

msw3_matchtype

(MSW3_matchtype) Method by which the taxon was linked to MSW3: one of "matched", "unmatched", or "manual".

msw3_sci_name

(MSW3_sciName) Scientific name as matched to the MSW3 taxonomy.

diff_since_msw3

(diffSinceMSW3) MSW3 comparison flag: 0 = species present in MSW3 (~2004 cutoff); 1 = species new since MSW3.

Source

Mammal Diversity Database release archive (https://www.mammaldiversity.org). Field definitions are derived from the META_v2.4.csv file and the column-level annotations in the MDD_Current sheet of the official MDD spreadsheet.

Details

The checklist is the primary tabular output of the MDD and covers all extant and recently extinct (post-1500 CE) mammal species recognised by the database curators. Column names have been normalised from the original camelCase (sciName, mainCommonName, etc.) to snake_case during data import; the original names are shown in parentheses in each \item above for cross-reference with the upstream spreadsheet.

Distribution fields operate on three nested spatial scales: subregion_distribution (subnational units, currently US states), country_distribution, and continent_distribution. Multiple values within each field are pipe-separated (|). Only native ranges and ancient introductions (before 1500 CE) are included; ? marks uncertain or possibly extirpated occurrences.

The distribution_notes and distribution_notes_citation columns are present in the data but are not currently curated and are reserved for future use.

Cross-release comparison is provided by three column pairs: cmw_sci_name / diff_since_cmw (vs. CMW 2020) and msw3_sci_name / msw3_matchtype / diff_since_msw3 (vs. MSW3, ~2004 cutoff).