The Complete List of Mammals That Start With C

This list includes 60 Mammals that start with C, from “Cacomistle” to “Cuvier’s Beaked Whale”. They span rodents, carnivores, bats, primates and marine mammals, useful for student research, classroom lists and quick species checks.

Mammals that start with C are species in Class Mammalia whose common English name begins with the letter C. A notable example is Cuvier’s beaked whale, named for Georges Cuvier and famous for deep diving.

Below you’ll find the table with Common name, Scientific name, Order, and Habitat.

Common name: The everyday English name helps you quickly recognize species and match names used in field guides and classroom lists.

Scientific name: The accepted Latin name gives precise identification and links you to formal taxonomy and scientific literature.

Order: The taxonomic order shows broad evolutionary relationships and helps you compare ecological roles among related species.

Habitat: A concise habitat label tells you where the species typically lives, aiding field identification and ecological comparisons.

Mammals that start with C

Descriptions

Capybara

The world’s largest rodent, native to South America. Highly social and semi-aquatic, this gentle giant is often seen lounging in groups near water.

Coyote

A highly adaptable canid of North and Central America. Known for its distinctive howl, it has successfully expanded its range into urban and suburban areas.

Cheetah

The fastest land animal on Earth, found in Africa and central Iran. Famous for its incredible acceleration and spotted coat that provides camouflage in savanna grass.

Chimpanzee

One of humanity’s closest living relatives, known for complex social structures and tool use. Native to the forests and savannas of tropical Africa, it is an endangered species.

Cougar

A large cat of the Americas, also known as a puma or mountain lion. A powerful, solitary predator with the greatest range of any large land mammal in the Western Hemisphere.

Caribou

Known as reindeer in Eurasia, this deer is adapted to Arctic environments. Famous for long migrations and being the only deer species where both sexes grow antlers.

Canada Lynx

A stealthy wild cat of North America’s boreal forests. It has large, furry paws that act like snowshoes and it primarily preys on the snowshoe hare.

Common Bottlenose Dolphin

One of the most well-known and intelligent dolphin species. Found in warm and temperate seas worldwide, they are known for their playful behavior and complex communication.

Camel (Dromedary)

The one-humped camel, native to the Middle East and the Horn of Africa. Perfectly adapted to desert life, it can go for long periods without water.

Capuchin Monkey (White-faced)

A highly intelligent New World monkey from Central America, known for its dexterity and use of tools to get food. Easily recognized by its black body and white face.

Caracal

A medium-sized wild cat known for its long, black ear tufts. Found across Africa and Asia, it’s an agile hunter that can leap high into the air to catch birds.

Chinchilla (Long-tailed)

A small rodent native to the Andes mountains. Prized for its incredibly soft, dense fur, which has led to it being critically endangered in the wild.

Chipmunk (Eastern)

A small, striped rodent of eastern North America. Easily recognized by the stripes on its back and its habit of gathering food in its large cheek pouches.

Clouded Leopard

A secretive wild cat of Southeast Asia. It has the largest canine teeth in proportion to its body size of any living feline, a trait reminiscent of saber-toothed cats.

Cape Buffalo

A large African bovine, not closely related to domestic cattle. Known for its formidable horns and unpredictable nature, it is one of Africa’s most respected and dangerous animals.

Colobus Monkey (Black-and-white)

An Old World monkey from Africa with a striking black and white coat. It has a long, flowing white tail and, unusually for a primate, lacks thumbs.

Coypu

A large, semi-aquatic rodent native to South America, also known as the nutria. It has been introduced worldwide and is often considered an invasive species.

Crab-eating Macaque

A common primate of Southeast Asia, often found near water. Despite its name, its diet is highly varied, and it is a known for being a very skilled swimmer.

Cuvier’s Beaked Whale

Holds the record for the longest and deepest dives among all mammals, reaching depths of nearly 3,000 meters. A very widespread yet rarely seen deep-diving whale.

Common Wombat

A stout, burrowing marsupial native to southeastern Australia. It is known for its backwards-facing pouch and for producing unique, cube-shaped scat to mark its territory.

Cuscus (Common Spotted)

A slow-moving, nocturnal marsupial found in New Guinea. It has a prehensile tail and lives an arboreal lifestyle, much like a sloth or loris.

Cacomistle

A nocturnal, tree-dwelling mammal from the forests of Mexico and Central America. Related to raccoons, it has a long, ringed tail and is an incredibly agile climber.

Cane Rat (Greater)

A large rodent from sub-Saharan Africa, often found in reed beds and riverbanks. It is an important source of bushmeat in some regions and is sometimes farmed.

Cape Fox

The only true fox species found in sub-Saharan Africa. A small, nocturnal canid with large ears, it inhabits the open savannas and semi-deserts of southern Africa.

Collared Peccary

A pig-like mammal found from the Southwestern US to South America. Known for the faint white “collar” of hair around its neck, it travels in social groups called squadrons.

Chamois

A goat-antelope species native to the mountains of Europe. Incredibly agile and sure-footed on steep, rocky terrain, making it a symbol of the Alps.

Common Genet

A cat-like mammal related to civets, found in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. It has a spotted coat, a long ringed tail, and is a stealthy nocturnal hunter.

Cotton-top Tamarin

A small New World monkey from Colombia, easily recognized by its long, white crest of hair. It is critically endangered primarily due to large-scale habitat destruction.

Cottontail Rabbit (Eastern)

One of the most common rabbit species in North America. Named for its short, fluffy white tail that resembles a cotton ball, which it flashes when fleeing from predators.

Caspian Seal

Found only in the brackish Caspian Sea, it is one of the smallest true seal species. This endangered species faces threats from industrial pollution and habitat loss.

Culpeo

The second-largest native canid on the South American continent. It resembles a red fox and inhabits a wide range of habitats along the Andes mountains.

Common Marmoset

A small monkey native to Brazil, known for its distinctive white ear tufts. It has claw-like nails that help it cling to trees while feeding on gum and sap.

Chacoan Peccary

An endangered peccary species native to the Gran Chaco of South America. Once thought to be extinct, it was rediscovered by scientists in the 1970s.

Crested Porcupine (African)

A large, nocturnal rodent known for its impressive coat of long, sharp quills which it rattles as a warning and uses for defense. Found across North Africa and Italy.

Celebes Crested Macaque

A critically endangered macaque from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Known for its entirely black fur and a prominent crest of hair on its head.

Chinese Pangolin

A unique mammal covered in protective keratin scales. Native to Asia, it is critically endangered due to extreme poaching for its scales and meat.

Common Seal

Also known as the harbor seal, this true seal is found along temperate and Arctic coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. It has a characteristically round, dog-like head.

Crowned Lemur

A lemur species from the northern tip of Madagascar. Males are distinguished by a black crown, while females have a gray crown. Listed as an Endangered species.

Corsac Fox

A medium-sized fox found in the steppes and semi-deserts of Central Asia. It lives in burrows and is known to be less picky about food than other foxes.

Calamian Deer

A small, endangered deer found only on the Calamian Islands of the Philippines. It has distinctive three-tined antlers and is primarily active at night.

Coati (White-nosed)

A member of the raccoon family, recognized by its long, flexible snout used to forage for food. They are social animals that travel in groups called bands.

Civet (African)

A large, solitary civet from sub-Saharan Africa. It produces a musk, historically used in perfumery, though synthetic versions are now used instead.

Chital

Also known as the spotted deer, native to the Indian subcontinent. Considered by many to be one of the most beautiful deer, with a coat covered in white spots year-round.

Crested Deer

A small deer from central China known for a prominent tuft of black hair on its forehead and small, fang-like canine teeth in the males.

Chinese Water Deer

A small deer that lacks antlers but has prominent tusks (canine teeth) in males, earning it the nickname “vampire deer.” It is an excellent swimmer.

Crabeater Seal

Despite its name, this Antarctic seal primarily eats krill, not crabs, using unique, sieve-like teeth. It is believed to be the most abundant large mammal on Earth.

Common Palm Civet

A civet native to South and Southeast Asia. Famously associated with Kopi Luwak coffee, made from coffee beans that have been eaten and excreted by the animal.

Collared Pika

A small relative of rabbits living in rocky alpine terrain in North America. They do not hibernate and spend summers gathering vegetation into “haypiles” for winter.

Chacma Baboon

One of the largest baboon species, found in southern Africa. They have a complex social hierarchy and are highly adaptable, inhabiting woodlands, savannas, and even mountains.

California Sea Lion

An intelligent and playful pinniped found on the western coast of North America. Often seen in zoos, they are known for their loud barking and ability to balance balls.

Cattle

One of the most common domestic animals globally, raised for meat, milk, and labor. They are social herd animals descended from the now-extinct aurochs.

Chiru

Also known as the Tibetan antelope, it lives on the high Tibetan Plateau. Prized for its ultra-fine wool (shahtoosh), which has led to severe poaching.

Commerson’s Dolphin

A small, strikingly patterned dolphin with a black head and tail and a white body. Found in coastal waters, they are very active and often leap from the water.

Cross River Gorilla

A critically endangered subspecies of the western gorilla, living along the border of Cameroon and Nigeria. It is the most threatened African ape, with only a few hundred left.

Crowned Sifaka

A critically endangered lemur from western Madagascar. It gets its name from the dark brown fur on its head that resembles a crown against its creamy-white body.

Coquerel’s Sifaka

A lemur from Madagascar known for its unique method of locomotion: it moves sideways on the ground by leaping with its powerful hind legs, holding its arms out for balance.

Cinnamon Red Bat

A species of vesper bat found in South America. It is named for its distinctive bright reddish-cinnamon fur, which provides camouflage among tree foliage.

Common Vampire Bat

A small bat from the Americas famous for feeding on blood (sanguivory). It uses sharp incisors to make a small cut, then laps up the blood with its tongue.

Cape Porcupine

The largest porcupine in the world, found in southern and central Africa. Its body is covered in formidable quills, some growing up to 50 cm long.

Common Mole-rat

A burrowing rodent from southern Africa. It lives in underground family groups and, unlike the naked mole-rat, is fully covered in fur.