There are over 5, different species of mammal. We recommend that you read every section, but if you want to jump to a particular part, you can use the links below:. If you enjoy this page then tell your friends about it! You can share it on social media using the buttons at the top of the page, or link to it from your own website.
Zoologists people who study animals make sense of the animal kingdom by putting animals into groups. This is known as classification. Mammals are members of the group of animals called Mammalia. All members of this group share certain physical characteristics, and are descended from the same ancestors. A class is one of the groups that zoologists use to classify animals. The groups have a hierarchy which means levels of importance.
The different levels of classification, from kingdom to species, are shown below. In the parentheses, you can see how a wolf Canis lupus is classified. By the way, species are often identified by their scientific name, which is made up of two Latin words and written in italics. The animals in each group get more and more alike the nearer you get to the bottom of the list.
The science of classification is known as Taxonomy. As we found in the previous parts of this series there are three main types of mammal: monotremes, marsupials, and placental mammals. Monotremes are members of the mammalian order Monotremata. Instead, they lay eggs. Despite this, monotremes still nurse their young with milk, have hair, and possess three bones in the middle ear: features that identify them as being mammals.
This is why the monotremes still lay eggs like their reptilian ancestors. A marsupial is a member of the infraclass Marsupialia. Infraclass is an intermediate classification category that comes below class.
Marsupials are mammals whose young are born in a relatively undeveloped state. Placental mammals give birth to live young. While in the womb, the developing fetus receives nourishment from an organ called a placenta. The platypus is one of the few venomous mammals : it has spurs on its ankles which can deliver a painful sting.
This surprising animal has another trick up its sleeve: it can hunt using electroreception. This means it can pick up minute electrical signals given off by the muscles of its prey.
There are four species of echidna. When threatened, they curl into a ball, like a hedgehog. There are two main types of marsupial: the American marsupials opossums and Australian marsupials. Examples of just some of the various types of marsupials within these two main groups are shown below. Opossums are a group of marsupials that live in the Americas. They are members of the Didelphimorphia order.
There are 17 orders of terrestrial land mammals in Australia. This includes endemic species native to Australia. The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigal people as the First Peoples and Traditional Custodians of the land and waterways on which the Museum stands. Image credit: gadigal yilimung shield made by Uncle Charles Chicka Madden.
This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Producing milk to feed them allows them to develop more slowly and spend time with the adults as they grow up, learning the skills they need to survive. Regulating their own body temperature and having hair of various thicknesses for protection has also allowed mammals to live in almost every habitat on Earth. There are three classes, or main types, of mammals: monotremes, marsupials, and placental mammals.
Monotremes are the most primitive mammals, and there are only five species: the platypus and four species of echidna. Monotremes have hair and produce milk, but they also lay eggs. The eggs are leathery, similar to reptile eggs, and hatch into tiny, embryonic offspring.
They latch onto a nipple and nurse almost continually until they have grown enough to emerge from the pouch. Some well-known marsupials are koalas and kangaroos. Some examples of placental mammals are cats, bears, monkeys, and humans. There are more than 4, species of mammals, which taxonomists classify into different groups based on characteristics like their body structure, the number and type of bones, and the number and arrangement of teeth. The largest land mammal is the male African elephant, which can reach Main menu.
Search form Search. Defining Characteristics: Vertebrates Endothermic: a. Smallest: hog-nosed bat 0. Placental mammals. Mammals Search by common name.
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