Annotated checklist of mammals from French Guiana

Abstract The Guiana Shield hosts large, well-preserved forest areas and littoral habitats (savannas, mangroves) with high biological diversity. Based on previous work and continuously growing knowledge resulting from taxonomic updates, ongoing field work, genetic and acoustic surveys, and an increasing network of non-professional but highly skilled naturalists, we propose a list of 198 terrestrial species of mammals, including 91 non-flying species and 107 bats, and 27 marine and estuarine species. The updated list provides, for each species, habitats preference, abundance, and conservation status. Although some groups (e.g., bats) and poorly contacted species (e.g., marine species) still require further taxonomic and ecological research, the work proposed in the checklist is expected to provide a relevant reference basis for taxonomic assignments, necessary for policy implementation, actions plans, and conservation prioritizations.