<P> This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Canada . There are approximately 200 mammal species native to Canada . Its large territorial size and variety of ecosystems, ranging from mountains to plains to urban housing, mean that Canada can harbour a great variety of species, including nearly half of the known cetaceans . The most well represented order is that of the rodents, and the smallest that of the Didelphimorphia (common opossums). </P> <P> Studies of mammals in Canada hearken back to the 1795 northern explorations of Samuel Hearne, whose account is considered surprisingly accurate . The first seminal work on Canadian mammals, however, was John Richardson's 1829 Fauna Boreali - Americana . Joseph Burr Tyrrell was the first to attempt to produce, in 1888, a comprehensive list of Canadian mammalian species . Ernest Thompson Seton and Charles - Eusèbe Dionne's work were also important . Modern Canadian publications with interest in mammalogy include The Canadian Field Naturalist, the Canadian Journal of Zoology and the French - language Le Naturaliste Canadien . </P>

How many species of mammals are in canada