Mammals represent a diverse and fascinating class of animals, encompassing a wide range of species from tiny shrews to humans to the colossal blue whale. As members of the class Mammalia, they share certain defining characteristics that set them apart from other animal classes.
What Is a Mammal?
A mammal is a vertebrate animal that belongs to the class Mammalia. This group has several distinct features:
- Warm-blooded Metabolism: Mammals maintain a constant body temperature regardless of the environment. In other words, they are endothermic animals.
- Hair or Fur: All mammals have some hair at some point in their lives.
- Mammary Glands: Female mammals possess mammary glands that produce milk to nourish their young.
- Live Births: Most mammals give birth to live young, though a few, like the platypus and echidna, lay eggs.
- Three Middle Ear Bones: Mammals have three distinct bones in the middle ear (malleus, incus, and stapes) that aid in hearing.
Mammal Characteristics Shared with Other Vertebrates
Mammals, like other vertebrates (animals with backbones), have:
- A vertebral column and endoskeleton: A series of bones that make up the spine and an interior skeleton.
- A similar basic body plan: This includes a head, a body with a bilateral symmetry and two pairs of appendages, and a tail in many species.
- A central nervous system: All vertebrates have a central nervous system, featuring a distinct head.
- A closed circulatory system: With a heart that pumps blood throughout the body.
Examples of Mammals and Non-Mammals
Probably the most common misconception is that birds are mammals. While they are warm-blooded, they have feathers instead of fur. Also, there is some confusion about aquatic mammals, such as whales, manatees, and dolphins. These animals actually do have a bit of hair, either at birth or even as adults in the form of whiskers. They are mammals and not fish.
- Mammals: Humans, lions, dolphins, bats, and elephants.
- Non-Mammals: Birds (e.g., eagles), reptiles (e.g., snakes), amphibians (e.g., frogs), fish (e.g., salmon), invertebrates (shrimp, bee).
Evolutionary History
Mammals evolved from synapsid ancestors during the late Triassic period, around 225 million years ago. Over time, they diversified into various forms, some of which went extinct. Others continued to evolve into the modern mammals we see today.
Orders within Class Mammalia
There are different methods of classifying mammals into orders. Also, scientists don’t agree on the number of orders. Here is one classification system:
- Artiodactyla (Even-toed Ungulates): Animals with hooves that bear weight on two of the five toes – includes deer, pigs, camels, cows, and giraffes.
- Carnivora (Carnivores): Predominantly meat-eating mammals like cats, dogs, bears, seals, and otters.
- Cetacea (Cetaceans): Aquatic mammals such as whales, dolphins, and porpoises.
- Chiroptera (Bats): The only mammals capable of true sustained flight.
- Dermoptera (Colugos or Flying Lemurs): Not true lemurs, these animals glide between trees in Southeast Asia.
- Didelphimorphia (Opossums): Includes the North American opossum and other species primarily found in the Western Hemisphere.
- Diprotodontia (Diprotodonts): A diverse order of marsupials including kangaroos, koalas, and wombats.
- Eulipotyphla (Hedgehogs, Shrews, Moles, and Relatives): Small, primarily insectivorous mammals.
- Lagomorpha (Rabbits, Hares, and Pikas): Characterized by long ears and a high reproduction rate.
- Macroscelidea (Elephant Shrews): Small insectivorous mammals native to Africa.
- Monotremata (Monotremes): Egg-laying mammals, including the platypus and echidnas.
- Peramelemorphia (Bandicoots and Bilbies): Small to medium-sized nocturnal marsupials.
- Perissodactyla (Odd-toed Ungulates): Includes horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs.
- Pholidota (Pangolins): Also known as scaly anteaters, they are the only mammals covered in scales.
- Pilosa (Anteaters and Sloths): This order includes the tree-dwelling sloths and terrestrial anteaters of Central and South America.
- Primates (Primates): This diverse group includes lemurs, monkeys, apes, and humans.
- Proboscidea (Elephants): Large mammals with trunks, like African and Asian elephants.
- Rodentia (Rodents): The largest order of mammals, including rats, mice, squirrels, and beavers.
- Scandentia (Tree Shrews): Small mammals resembling shrews, native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia.
- Sirenia (Sea Cows): Aquatic, herbivorous mammals that include manatees and dugongs.
- Tubulidentata (Aardvarks): Native to Africa, these nocturnal mammals feed primarily on ants and termites.
Interesting Facts About Mammals
Here are some fun, interesting, and amazing facts about mammals.
- Largest Mammal: The largest mammal is blue whale, which is also the largest animal ever known to have existed.
- Smallest Mammal: The smallest mammal is the Etruscan shrew, weighing only about 1.2 grams.
- Number of Species: There are over 6,000 species of mammals.
- Largest Order: Rodentia is the largest mammalian order, encompassing about 40% of all mammalian species.
- Unusual Characteristics: The platypus and echidna are unique among mammals for laying eggs.
- Bats and Echolocation: Bats are the only mammals that can sustain true flight. Many species use echolocation for navigating and finding food in the dark.
- The Blue Whale’s Heart: The blue whale has a heart the size of a small car. Its heartbeat can be detected from two miles away, and a human could theoretically swim through its arteries.
- The Elephant’s Trunk: An elephant’s trunk is an incredibly versatile tool, used for breathing, smelling, touching, grasping, and producing sound. It contains about 40,000 muscles, far more than the entire human body.
- Hibernation Abilities: Some mammals, like bears and ground squirrels, undergo hibernation. During this period, their body temperature drops, and their metabolism slows down dramatically, allowing them to survive long periods without food.
- Naked Mole Rats’ Resistance to Cancer: Naked mole rats are highly resistant to cancer due to a unique structure of their hyaluronan, a substance in their skin.
- The Platypus: One of the few venomous mammals, the male platypus has a spur on its hind foot that can deliver a painful venom.
- Mammalian Diversification: Mammals inhabit every continent, including Antarctica (like seals), and in a vast array of environments, from the deepest oceans (whales and dolphins) to the skies (bats).
- Mammal Longevity: While some small mammals like shrews may live only a year or two, others have surprisingly long lifespans. For example, bowhead whales can live over 200 years, making them one of the longest-lived mammals.
- Dolphin Intelligence: Dolphins are known for their high intelligence. They demonstrate self-awareness, problem-solving skills, and complex social behavior. They use a sophisticated system of sounds and body movements to communicate with each other.
- Kangaroos and Hopping: Kangaroos are the only large animals to use hopping as their primary means of locomotion.
- Marsupials and Placentals: While most mammals give birth to live young, marsupials, like kangaroos and koalas, give birth to undeveloped young that complete their development in a pouch.
- The Regenerating Deer Antlers: Deer are the only mammals that can regenerate an entire body part – their antlers. They shed and regrow these every year.
References
- Simpson, George Gaylord (1945). “The principles of classification and a classification of mammals”. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 85: 1–350.
- Springer, Mark S.; Stanhope, Michael J.; Madsen, Ole; Wilfried (2004). “Molecules consolidate the placental mammal tree”. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 19 (8): 430–438. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2004.05.006
- Vaughan, Terry A.; Ryan, James M.; Czaplewski, Nicholas J. (2015). Mammalogy (6th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning. ISBN 9781284032093.
- Wilson, Don E.; Reeder, Deeann M. (eds). (1993.) Mammal Species of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press,. ISBN 1-56098-217-9.