This is a list of the native wild mammal species recorded in Central America. Central America is usually defined as the southernmost extension of North America; however, from a biological standpoint it is useful to view it as a separate region of the Americas. Central America is distinct from the remainder of North America in being a tropical region, part of the Neotropical realm, whose flora and fauna display a strong South American influence. The rest of North America is mostly subtropical or temperate, belongs to the Nearctic realm, and has far fewer species of South American origin.

At present, Central America bridges North and South America, facilitating migrations in both directions, but this phenomenon is relatively recent from a geological perspective. The formation of this land bridge through volcanic activity three million years ago precipitated the Great American Interchange, an important biogeographical event. In part because of this history, Central America is extremely biodiverse; it comprises most of the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot. The mountains running down the spine of Central America have also contributed to biodiversity by creating montane habitats, including cloud forests and grasslands, and by separating species from the lowlands along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. However, Central America's biodiversity suffered a blow in the Quaternary extinction event, which started around 12,500 cal BP, at roughly the time of arrival of Paleoindians; much of the megafauna died out at this time. The effects of modern human activities on climate and ecosystem integrity pose a further threat to Central America's fauna.

This list consists of those mammal species found from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to the northwestern border of Colombia, a region including the Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo, as well as the nations of Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. As of May 2012, the list contains 378 species, 177 genera, 47 families and 13 orders. Of the taxa from nonflying, nonmarine groups (203 species, 91 genera, 31 families and 10 orders), those of South American origin (opossums, xenarthrans, monkeys and caviomorph rodents) comprise 21% of species, 34% of genera, 52% of families and 50% of orders. Thus, South America's contribution to Central America's biodiversity is fairly modest at the species level, but substantial at higher taxonomic levels. In comparison to South America, a famously biodiverse continent, Central America has 27% as many species, 51% as many genera, 81% as many families and 86% as many orders (considering noncetacean taxa only), while having only 4.3% of the land area.

Of the species, two are extinct, eleven are critically endangered, thirteen are endangered, twenty are vulnerable, twenty are near threatened, thirty-five are data deficient and five are not yet evaluated. Mammal species presumed extinct since AD 1500 (two cases) are included. Domestic species and introduced species are not listed.

Note: this list is almost inevitably going to be incomplete, since new species are continually being recognized via discovery or reclassification. Places to check for missing species include the Wikipedia missing mammal species list, including recently removed entries, and the species listings in the articles for mammalian genera, especially those of small mammals such as rodents or bats.

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature; those on the left are used here, those in the second column in some other articles:

EX Extinct No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died. EW Extinct in the wild Known only to survive in captivity or as a naturalized population well outside its historic range. CR Critically endangered The species is in imminent danger of extinction in the wild. EN Endangered The species is facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild. VU Vulnerable The species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild. NT Near threatened The species does not qualify as being at high risk of extinction but is likely to do so in the future. LC Least concern The species is not currently at risk of extinction in the wild. DD Data deficient There is inadequate information to assess the risk of extinction for this species. NE Not evaluated The conservation status of the species has not been studied.

The IUCN status of the listed species was last updated between November 2008 and March 2009.

Subclass: Theria

Infraclass: Metatheria

Marsupials are an infraclass of pouched mammals that was once more widely distributed. Today they are found primarily in isolated or formerly isolated continents of Gondwanan origin. Those of Central America are relatively recent immigrants from South America. Central America's 10 extant genera compares with 22 in South America, 1 in North America north of Mexico, 52 in Australia, 28 in New Guinea and 2 in Sulawesi. South American marsupials are thought to be ancestral to those of Australia and elsewhere.

Superorder: Ameridelphia

Order: Didelphimorphia (common opossums)

Didelphimorphia is the order of common opossums of the Western Hemisphere. Opossums probably diverged from the basic South American marsupials in the late Cretaceous or early Paleocene. They are small to medium-sized marsupials, about the size of a large house cat, with a long snout and prehensile tail.

Family: Didelphidae (American opossums) Subfamily: Caluromyinae Genus: Caluromys Derby's woolly opossum, C. derbianus Subfamily: Didelphinae Genus: Chironectes Water opossum, Chironectes minimus Genus: Didelphis Common opossum, Didelphis marsupialis Virginia opossum, Didelphis virginiana Genus: Marmosa Subgenus: Exulomarmosa Isthmian mouse opossum, Marmosa isthmica Mexican mouse opossum, Marmosa mexicana Robinson's mouse opossum, Marmosa robinsoni Marmosa zeledoni NE Subgenus: Micoureus Alston's mouse opossum, Marmosa alstoni Genus: Marmosops Panama slender opossum, Marmosops invictus Genus: Metachirus Brown four-eyed opossum, Metachirus nudicaudatus Genus: Monodelphis Sepia short-tailed opossum, Monodelphis adusta Genus: Philander Gray four-eyed opossum, Philander opossum Genus: Tlacuatzin Grayish mouse opossum, Tlacuatzin canescens

Infraclass: Eutheria

Superorder Afrotheria

Order: Sirenia (manatees and dugongs)

Sirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit rivers, estuaries, coastal marine waters, swamps, and marine wetlands. All four extant species are endangered. They evolved about 50 million years ago, and their closest living relatives are elephants. The manatees are the only extant afrotherians in the Americas. However, a number proboscid species, some of which survived until the arrival of Paleoindians, once inhabited the region. Mammoths, mastodons and gomphotheres all reached Central America.

Family: Trichechidae Genus: Trichechus West Indian manatee, Trichechus manatus VU

Superorder Xenarthra

Order: Cingulata (armadillos) The armadillos are small mammals with a bony armored shell. Two of 21 extant species are present in Central America; the remainder are only found in South America, where they originated. Their much larger relatives, the pampatheres and glyptodonts, once lived in North and South America but became extinct following the appearance of humans.

Family: Dasypodidae (long-nosed armadillos) Subfamily: Dasypodinae Genus: Dasypus Nine-banded armadillo, D. novemcinctus LC Family: Chlamyphoridae (armadillos) Subfamily: Tolypeutinae Genus: Cabassous Northern naked-tailed armadillo, C. centralis DD

Order: Pilosa (sloths and anteaters) The order Pilosa is confined to the Americas and contains the tree sloths and anteaters (which include the tamanduas). Although their ancestral home is South America, all 5 extant genera and 6 of 10 extant species are present in Central America. Numerous ground sloths, some of which reached the size of elephants, were once present in both North and South America, as well as on the Antilles, but all went extinct following the arrival of humans. Extant two-toed sloths are more closely related to some extinct ground sloths than to three-toed sloths.

Suborder: Folivora Family: Bradypodidae (three-toed sloths) Genus: Bradypus Pygmy three-toed sloth, Bradypus pygmaeus CR Brown-throated sloth, Bradypus variegatus LC Family: Choloepodidae (two-toed sloths) Genus: Choloepus Hoffmann's two-toed sloth, Choloepus hoffmanni LC Suborder: Vermilingua Family: Cyclopedidae (silky anteaters) Genus: Cyclopes Silky anteater, C. didactylus LC Central American silky anteater, C. dorsalis Family: Myrmecophagidae (American anteaters) Genus: Myrmecophaga Giant anteater, Myrmecophaga tridactyla VU Genus: Tamandua Northern tamandua, Tamandua mexicana LC

Superorder Euarchontoglires

Order: Primates

The order Primates includes the lemurs, monkeys, and apes, with the latter category including humans. It is divided into four main groupings: strepsirrhines, tarsiers, monkeys of the New World (parvorder Platyrrhini), and monkeys and apes of the Old World. Central America's 6 genera of nonhuman primates compares with 20 in South America, 15 in Madagascar, 23 in Africa and 19 in Asia. Central American monkeys are recent immigrants from South America, where their ancestors arrived after rafting over from Africa 25 million years ago. Parvorder: Platyrrhini (New World monkeys) Family: Aotidae (night monkeys) Genus: Aotus Panamanian night monkey, Aotus zonalis DD – may be A. lemurinus VU subspecies Family: Callitrichidae (marmosets and tamarins) Genus: Saguinus Geoffroy's tamarin, Saguinus geoffroyi LC Family: Cebidae (capuchin and squirrel monkeys) Subfamily: Cebinae Genus: Cebus Colombian white-faced capuchin, Cebus capucinus LC Panamanian white-faced capuchin, Cebus imitator NE Subfamily: Saimiriinae Genus: Saimiri Central American squirrel monkey, Saimiri oerstedii VU Family: Atelidae (howler, spider and woolly monkeys) Subfamily: Alouattinae Genus: Alouatta Coiba Island howler, Alouatta coibensis VU – may be A. palliata subspecies Mantled howler, Alouatta palliata LC Guatemalan black howler, Alouatta pigra EN Subfamily: Atelinae Genus: Ateles Black-headed spider monkey, Ateles fusciceps CR Geoffroy's spider monkey, Ateles geoffroyi EN

Order: Rodentia (rodents)

Rodents make up the largest order of mammals, with over 40% of mammalian species. They have two incisors in the upper and lower jaw which grow continually and must be kept short by gnawing. Most rodents are small, although the capybara can weigh up to . Central America's 11 species of caviomorph rodents (10% of its total rodent species) are recent immigrants from South America, where their ancestors washed ashore after rafting across the Atlantic from Africa over 30 million years ago. The remainder of Central America's rodents are of Nearctic origin. Ancestral sigmodontine rodents apparently island-hopped from Central America to South America 5 or more million years ago, prior to the formation of the Panamanian land bridge. They went on to diversify explosively, and now comprise 60% of South America's rodent species, while only making up 27% of Central America's.

Suborder: Hystricomorpha Parvorder: Caviomorpha Family: Erethizontidae (New World porcupines) Subfamily: Erethizontinae Genus: Coendou Andean porcupine, Coendou quichua DD Rothschild's porcupine, Coendou rothschildi LC Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine, Coendou mexicanus LC Family: Caviidae (guinea pigs) Subfamily: Hydrochoerinae (capybaras and rock cavies) Genus: Hydrochoerus Lesser capybara, Hydrochoerus isthmius DD Family: Dasyproctidae Genus: Dasyprocta Coiban agouti, Dasyprocta coibae VU Mexican agouti, Dasyprocta mexicana CR Central American agouti, Dasyprocta punctata LC Ruatan Island agouti, Dasyprocta ruatanica EN