Home>>All Animals>>Mammal

mammals

Mammals are an important group of vertebrates characterized by the presence of mothers feeding their offspring. Notable characteristics of mammals include lactation, body hair, endothermy (warm-blooded animals), and a four-chambered heart. There are many species of mammals, living in almost all ecosystems on Earth, from the deep sea to the mountains, from tropical rainforests to the cold polar regions.

  • scientific name:Mammalia

  • Features

    • suckle:Females have mammary glands that secrete milk to feed their young.

    • Body hair:Most mammals are covered with hair.

    • Endothermic:Maintaining a constant body temperature through metabolism.

    • Four-chambered heart:Mammals have four-chambered hearts to ensure efficient oxygen delivery.

    • viviparous:Most mammals reproduce by giving birth to live young, but some species, such as monotremes (e.g. the platypus), lay eggs.

  • Habitat:Almost all habitats on Earth, including land, ocean, fresh water, polar regions, etc.

Mammals.jpg


Mammal classification table

Mammals are numerous and can be subdivided based on different biological characteristics. Mammals are roughly divided into three subclasses:

  1. Monotremata: Oviparous mammals.

  2. Marsupialia: Kangaroos, koalas, etc., whose young continue to develop in a pouch outside the mother's body.

  3. Eutheria: Viviparous mammals, the most abundant species, including humans, lions, whales, etc.

The following is a detailed classification table of mammals, including all orders, families, genera and typical animals:

sortOrderFamilyGenusExamples
MonotremataMonotremataOrnithorhynchidaeOrnithorhynchusPlatypus, Echidna


TachyglossidaeEchidnaEchidna
MarsupialiaMarsupialiaMacropodidaeMacropusKangaroos, wombats, possums


PhascolarctidaePhascolarctoskoala


DasyuridaeDasyurusBandicoot, Tasmanian devil
EutheriaCarnivoraCanidaeCanisWolf, dog, fox


FelidaeFelisHouse cat, lion, tiger


UrsidaeUrsusBlack bear, brown bear, polar bear

PerissodactylaEquidaeEquusHorse, donkey, zebra


RhinocerotidaeRhinocerosWhite rhino, black rhino


TapiridaeTapirusTapirus

ArtiodactylaBovidaeBosCattle, antelopes, sheep


CervidaeCervusDeer, reindeer, sika deer


SuidaeSusWild boar, domestic pig

CetaceaBalaenidaeMegapteraHumpback whale, blue whale


DelphinidaeDelphinusDolphins, killer whales

PrimatesCercopithecidaePongoOrangutans, gibbons, monkeys


HominidaeHomoHumans, chimpanzees, orangutans

RodentiaSciuridaeSciurusSquirrels, Ground Squirrels


CastoridaeCastorbeaver


MuridaeMusHouse mouse, vole

ChiropteraVespertilionidaeMyotisSmall bat, big bat

LagomorphaLeporidaeOryctolagusRabbit, hare

Characteristics and Adaptations of Mammals

Mammals are one of the most diverse groups in the biological world. Here are the main characteristics of mammals and how they adapt:


1. Breastfeeding

A notable feature of mammals is that mothers secrete milk through their mammary glands to feed their offspring. This allows mammal cubs to receive adequate nutritional support after birth, increasing their survival rate.


2. Body hair

Almost all mammals have body hair, which not only helps to keep warm, but also plays a camouflage or display function in some species. For example, the white hair of polar bears helps them camouflage in the snow and reduce the risk of being discovered by prey.


3. Homeothermy

Mammals maintain a stable body temperature through metabolism, which allows mammals to maintain a suitable temperature regardless of changes in the outside temperature. This feature allows mammals to survive in a variety of environments, including extreme environments such as polar regions and deserts.


4. Viviparity

Most mammals reproduce by giving birth to live young, which allows the embryo to receive more stable nutritional support in the mother's body and be more viable after birth. Some species, such as kangaroos and koalas, adopt marsupial parenting.


5. Diet

Mammals have a variety of diets, from herbivorous to carnivorous and omnivorous. Some species (such as bats) have even evolved to suck blood. Different diets allow mammals to find living space in a variety of ecological environments.


Summary: Mammals are the most advanced animals with the most perfect physiological functions. There are more than 4,000 existing mammals. Almost all mammals are warm-blooded. Feeding their offspring with breast milk is one of their most notable characteristics. Mammals include nearly 30 orders, including Monotremes, Carnivores, Primates, Perissodactyla, and Artiodactyla.

Carnivora Primates Rodents Chiroptera Shrews Ungulata Cetacea Lagomorpha Pholidota Proboscidea Monotremata
Boselaphus tragocamelus

Boselaphus tragocamelus

Boselaphus tragocamelus,blue antelope, blue scimitar-horned antelope, Indian antelope, blue bull

Features:They have a white "beard" below their throats, their front legs are usually longer, and their legs are often marked with white "socks"

Bluebuck (scientific name: Boselaphus tragocamelus) is called Nilgai, Bluebuck in English, Nilgau in French, Nilgo in Spanish, Nilgau, Nilgauantilope in German, and has no subspecies.The blue antelope is a diurnal animal, more active in the early morning and evening. It lives in groups, with most se...

Pseudoryx nghetinhensis

Pseudoryx nghetinhensis

Pseudoryx nghetinhensis,Annamite antelope, Asian unicorn, Asian unicorn, Wuguang cattle, sword-horned cattle, Saura antelope

Features:It looks like an antelope, but when viewed from the side it appears to have only one horn, so it is also called the "Asian Unicorn".

The Saola (scientific name: Pseudoryx nghetinhensis), also known as Wu Guang Niu and Asian Qilin, is a monotypic species of the genus Saola in the family Bovidae of the order Artiodactylus. The Saola is a large mammal discovered in 1992. Its unique appearance caused a sensation in the scientific com...

Bubalus quarlesi

Bubalus quarlesi

Bubalus quarlesi,Mountain buffalo, Buffalo quagga

Features:It is the smallest species of buffalo.

Mountain buffalo (scientific name: Bubalus quarlesi) is called Mountain Anoa in English, Anoa de quarle, Anoa des montagnes in French, Anoa de Montaña in Spanish, Berg-Anoa, Berganoa in German, and has no subspecies. It is the smallest species in the genus Buffalo of the order Artiodactyla, family...

Bubalus mindorensis

Bubalus mindorensis

Bubalus mindorensis,Tamoro buffalo, Philippine buffalo, Mindanao buffalo, Mindoro buffalo

Features:The horns are short and black, and they are Y-shaped, not crescent-shaped like the buffalo.

Mindoro buffalo (scientific name: Bubalus mindorensis) is also known as Tamaraw in foreign languages. It has no subspecies. Mindoro buffalo only live in Mindoro. Together with the fossils of the genus Bubalus found on other islands, it shows that they were once widely distributed in the Philippines....

Bubalus depressicornis

Bubalus depressicornis

Bubalus depressicornis,Celebes buffalo, Lowland buffalo

Features:One of the smallest buffaloes in the world

Lowland buffalo (scientific name: Bubalus depressicornis) is called Lowland anoa in foreign language, and has no subspecies.Unlike other wild cattle, Lowland buffalo usually live alone. Mother-child pairs are common, and occasionally small herds of up to 5 are gathered. It is a terrestrial animal. M...

Bubalus arnee

Bubalus arnee

Bubalus arnee,Asian wild buffalo, Asian water buffalo, Indian wild buffalo

Features:Of all the bison species, the wild buffalo has the largest horns, which can reach up to 2 meters in size.

Wild buffalo (scientific name: Bubalus arnee) is called Wild Water Buffalo, Asian Buffalo, Asiatic Buffalo, Indian Buffalo, Indian Water Buffalo, Water Buffalo, Wild Asian Buffalo in English, Buffle d'Eau, Buffle de l'Inde in French, Búfalo arni in Spanish, Arni, Asiatischer Wasserbüffel i...

Bos grunniens

Bos grunniens

Bos grunniens

Features:It is the most famous livestock in the high altitude areas of central Asia.

Domestic Yak (scientific name: Bos grunniens) is an artificially cultivated animal of the order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae, and genus Bos. It is called "Zhong" in Tibetan and is the most typical animal on the Tibetan Plateau. It is large in size and has strong vitality.The length and fin...

Bos taurus

Bos taurus

Bos taurus,Cattle, European cattle

Features:Strong physique, mainly used for eating, labor, and some events

Domestic cattle (scientific name: Bos taurus) are also known as domesticated cattle or aurochs. They are a general term for many domesticated animals in the order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae, and genus Bos. There are 1.3 billion domestic cattle on Earth today, with a total of 897 breeds. They are g...

Bos sauveli

Bos sauveli

Bos sauveli,Kapolei cattle, gray cattle

Features:They are tall but narrow, and their hair is mostly brown, with older males having black hair.

Cambodian wild cattle (scientific name: Bos sauveli) English Kouprey, Grey Ox, French Boeuf gris Cambodgien, Spanish Toro Cuprey, German Kouprey, no subspecies. Cambodian wild cattle are a particularly rare wild cattle native to Southeast Asia. Scientists did not discover this wild cattle until 1937...

Bosprimigenius

Bosprimigenius

Bosprimigenius

Features:The ancestor of domestic cattle, now extinct

Bosprimigenius, scientific name, is a large cattle, now extinct. Its scientific name comes from the German word Auerochse, meaning primitive cattle. Extinct (1627).Aurochs is a legendary wild cattle. Although it is distributed in Europe, it is a completely different species from the European bison,...

Bison bonasus

Bison bonasus

Bison bonasus

Features:The largest native herbivore in Europe, with a very large body

European bison (scientific name: Bison bonasus) is called European Bison, European Bison, Wisent in English, Bison d'Europe, Bison d'Europe in French, Bisonte Europeo, Bisonte Europeo in Spanish, Europäischer Wisent, Wisent in German, and has two subspecies.The area of European bison habita...

Bison bison

Bison bison

Bison bison,bison, American buffalo, bison

Features:It is the national animal of the United States

American bison (scientific name: Bison bison) is called American Bison in English and Amerikanischer Bison in German. It has two subspecies.American bison live in large numbers on the Great Plains of the United States and Canada, from the Great Slave Lake in the far north of Canada to Mexico in the...

Raphicerus sharpei

Raphicerus sharpei

Raphicerus sharpei

Features:There is a white ring around the eyes and along the sides of the muzzle that extends into the nasal cavity

Sharpe's Grysbok (scientific name: Raphicerus sharpei) is called Sharpe's Grysbok in English, Grysbok de Sharpe in French, Sharpe se Grysbok in South Africa, and Sharpegreisbok in German. There is no subspecies.The Shamrock is easily distinguished from other members of the genus. The Shamroc...

Raphicerus melanotis

Raphicerus melanotis

Raphicerus melanotis

Features:Rather stocky, with large ears and white radial stripes on the inside

Black-eared antelope (scientific name: Raphicerus melanotis) is also known as Cape Grysbok, with no subspecies.Black-eared antelopes are territorial, and each animal has a clearly defined home. They mark nearby plants with scents from defecation, urination, and secretions from foot and preorbital gl...

Raphicerus campestris

Raphicerus campestris

Raphicerus campestris

Features:There is a circle of white hair around the big eyes, and a thin black triangle

Raphicerus campestris (Steenbok in English, Steenbok in French, Steenbok in South Africa, Steinbockchen in German) has 4 subspecies.The common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia) is similar in size and color to the sylvicapra grimmia, but is usually more whitish (grey) in appearance. The common duiker usual...

Ourebia ourebia

Ourebia ourebia

Ourebia ourebia

Features:There is a line of white fur above the eyes and a bald black hairless patch under the ears

Orebia ourebia (scientific name: Ourebia ) is called Oribi in foreign language. It has 9 subspecies and is a medium-sized ungulate.Orebia usually live in pairs or small groups of up to 7. There is one adult male and up to three adult females in a group. These groups have their own territories,...

Oreotragus oreotragus

Oreotragus oreotragus

Features:The fur is thick and coarse, yellow and gray, with gray and white spots, and almost tailless.

Oreotragus oreotragus (English: Klipspringer, French: Oréotrague, South African: Klipspringer, German: Klippspringer, Dutch: "rock jumper"), with 11 subspecies.The average territory of the Oreotragus is about 0.081 square kilometers. The size of a male's territory will depend on the a...

Neotragus moschatus

Neotragus moschatus

Neotragus moschatus

Features:The overall color varies, and the ears are thin-skinned, large and round, and appear translucent pink in the sun.

Neotragus moschatus (scientific name: Neotragus moschatus): It is the only species of the genus Neotragus in the order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae, and is a very small antelope with 4 subspecies.The Sangdao Neogaur and its many subspecies were from 1972 to 2005, belonging to the genus Neotragus, wh...

Neotragus pygmaeus

Neotragus pygmaeus

Neotragus pygmaeus

Features:One of the smallest ungulates

Royal Antelope (scientific name: Neotragus pygmaeus) English Royal Antelope, French Antilope royale, German Kleinstbokchen, no subspecies.The Bess Island Antelope is very similar to the Royal Antelope, but is only found in central Africa. The Baird's Island Oryx has small black and white marking...

Neotragus batesi

Neotragus batesi

Neotragus batesi

Features:Small black and white spots on the ears

Bates' Pygmy Antelope (scientific name: Neotragus batesi) English: Bates' Pygmy Antelope, Dwarf Antelope, German: Batesbokchen, no subspecies.The Bet's Island Oryx is similar in appearance to the Royal Island Oryx (Neotragus pygmaeus) of West Africa, but can be distinguished by its large...

Madoqua saltiana

Madoqua saltiana

Madoqua saltiana

Features:The English name is Dik-dik, which comes from its call.

Madoqua saltiana (Scientific name: Madoqua saltiana) English: Salt's Dik-dik, French Dik-dik de Salt, German: Eritrea-Dikdik, Somalia: Sagaro, there are 5 subspecies.The antelope is diurnal and most active in the morning and afternoon. Sometimes it is active well into the afternoon and into the...