The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919 to encourage the study of mammals. There are over 4,500 members, primarily professional scientists who emphasize the importance of public policy and education. There are several ASM meetings held each year, and the society manages several publications such as the Journal of Mammalogy, Special Publications, Mammalian Species, and Society Pamphlets. The best known of these is the Journal of Mammalogy. The ASM also maintains The Mammal Image Library which contains more than 1,300 mammal slides. A president, vice president, recording secretary, secretary-treasurer, and journal editor are all elected by the members to be officers of the society. In addition, ASM is composed of thirty one committees, including the Animal Care and Use Committee, the Conservation Awards Committee, the International Relations Committee, and the Publications Committee. It also provides numerous grants and awards for research and studies on mammals. These awards can go to both scientists and students. The ASM also lists employment opportunities for their members.
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History
Milo Herrick Spaulding was a charter member.
Mammal Diversity Database
Since 2018, the American Society of Mammalogists has maintained the Mammal Diversity Database, an online checklist of mammal species. The database is maintained by the ASM Biodiversity Committee and "aims to provide a continuously updated listing of the world's mammal species and higher taxa." The latest update (version 2.2) was released on June 13, 2025, and lists 6,815 species placed in 1,359 genera, 167 families and 27 orders.
Mammal Societies
A list of world mammalogical societies associated with or that publish in the ASM. By 2017, the ASM had 865 non-US members from 88 countries.
Argentina: Sociedad Argentina para el Estudio de los Mamíferos (Argentine Society for the Study of Mammals, SAREM). Official journal: Mastozoología Neotropical (Journal of Neotropical Mammalogy).
Australia: The Australian Mammal Society. Official journal: Australian Mammalogy.
Bolivia: Red Boliviana de Mastozoología (RBM; formerly the Asociación Boliviana de Investigadores de Mamíferos, ABIMA) Official publication: None. Articles are published through the organization's Facebook page, the "Publicaciones" section on the RBM website, Revista Latinoamericana de Conservación (Latin American Journal of Conservation), PLoS One, Therya, Ecología en Bolivia (Ecology in Bolivia Journal of the Institute of Ecology), or the Journal of Mammalogy.
Brazil: Sociedade Brasileira de Mastozoologia (Brazilian Society of Mastozoology, or Brazilian Society of Mammalogy, SMBz). Official publication[s]: Brazilian Journal of Mammalogy (BJM) and co-edits the Journal of Neotropical Mammalogy with SAREM.
Colombia: Sociedad Colombiana de Mastozoología (Colombian Society of Mammalogy, SCMas). Official journal: Mammalogy Notes (Notas Mastozoológicas (MaNo)
Ecuador: Mamíferos del Ecuador (Ecuadorian Association of Mammalogy). Affiliated with the Latin American Network of Mammalogy (RELAM) and the International Federation of Mammalogists (IFM). Official publication: Mammalia aequatorialis (The Ecuadorian Journal of Mammalogy)
El Salvador: Grupo de Trabajo de Mastozoología de El Salvador (GTMES). Official publication: Unknown
Europe: Societas Europaea Mammalogica (European Mammal Foundation, SEM), registered in the Netherlands. The IX European Congress of Mammalogy (ECM9), organized by the Hellenic Zoological Society, the European Mammal Foundation, and Mammal Conservation Europe convened in Patras, Greece from March 31 to April 4, 2025.