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 Eulipotyphla Ungulata Cetacea Lagoiformes Pangolins Proboscidea Monotremata
Rhinolophus yunnanensis

Rhinolophus yunnanensis

Rhinolophus yunnanensis

Features:The nose leaves of this species are particularly large (1.3×1.0 cm)

Rhinolophus yunnanensis was published in 1872 by Dobson on the basis of two male and one female specimens collected in Hotha, China (1371.6m above sea level), and later merged into R. pearsonii by himself. Andersen (1905) compared the description and diagram of the species and pearsonii and found th...

Formosan lesser horseshoe bat

Formosan lesser horseshoe bat

Formosan lesser horseshoe bat,Rhinolophus monoceros

Features:The back of the body is brown with reddish tips.

This species is endemic to China, and because of its small size, it will be clustered, and is a typical group of nocturnal animals. Use constant frequency echolocation sound waves to detect prey in the environment.The bats live deep in caves in single or small groups, often hanging upside down by ho...

Rhinolophus formosae

Rhinolophus formosae

Rhinolophus formosae

Features:The lower nasal lobe is horseshoe shaped

It is a solitary bat, with only one or a few individuals found in a tunnel, cave or tree hole. Use constant frequency narrow-band echolocation (constant frequency) sound waves to detect prey in the environment. It is nocturnal and feeds on insects. It lives deeper in the cave....

Sphaerias blanfordi

Sphaerias blanfordi

Sphaerias blanfordi

Features:The front of the nostrils is tubular and looks like a dog bat

The species was named by CAI Guiguan and Zhang Naizhi (1980) on the basis of two male specimens collected from Metuo, Xizang Province, which each had a round brown-yellow brush spot on the lower neck, a white leading edge of the lower ear shell, and a brown-blue nape. Domestic and foreign scholars (...

Pteropus dasymallus

Pteropus dasymallus

Pteropus dasymallus

Features:With a dog-like head and large eyes, it is unique to Taiwan and is the only fruit eating bat in Taiwan's pterodactyl family.

The Ryukyu Flying Fox is the only fruit eating bat unique to Taiwan's pterodactyl species. It is a typical arboreal bat that relies on sight and smell to search for food. It feeds mainly on the fruits of the genus Ficus. It does not use ultrasound to locate, but uses sight and smell to find food...

Kerivoula furva

Kerivoula furva

Kerivoula furva

Features:The auricle is funnel-shaped and the tragus is slightly lanceolate.

Dark brown bat is a forest bat. The specimens were collected and captured in the passage of the mixed forest of bamboo forest and evergreen broad-leaved forest using bat harp nets。 Wu et al. (2012) reported Kerivoula titania as the new record for bats in China, using specim...

Painted Bat

Painted Bat

Painted Bat,Kerivoula picta

Features:Tail length is equal to body length. The coat is long and fine, showing an orange-yellow color.

Painted bats are rare in number and fly around tea groves, banana groves, lychee groves and houses to feed. In recent years they have been caught in the young leaves of banana plantations in Haikou and Sanya. They feed on insects. Painted bats live in forests and under leaves. Th...

Harpiocephalus harpia

Harpiocephalus harpia

Harpiocephalus harpia

Features:There are obvious sexual dimorphism phenomenon.

Wool-winged tube-nosed bats are forest bats that feed on beetles. This species is found in Java. In the same environment, dark brown bats (< Kerivoula furva>) Rhinolophus macroetalis and mesotubularis. Rare species. However, in recent years, with the deepening of the investigation, the distrib...

Murina lorelieae

Murina lorelieae

Murina lorelieae

Features:The nose is elongated and tubular, and the rostral end is pointed.

Lorelei tube-nosed bats are small tube-nosed bats. After Eger & Lim (2011) published a new species from a specimen in Diding, Guangxi, Tu et al. (2015) captured three tube-nosed bats in Wangling Nature Reserve, Vietnam. According to their body size and mitochondrial COI gene differences, It is d...

Murina leucogaster

Murina leucogaster

White-bellied Tube-nosed bat,Murina leucogaster

Features:The color of body hair varies greatly in different geographical regions.

The social structure of the white-bellied bat is complex, and it is a typical social nocturnal animal, often living in the same cave with other bat species. Sometimes it also roosts in tree holes and buildings, and hibernates in caves and rock crevices in winter. White-belted tube-nosed bats emit ty...

Murina huttoni

Murina huttoni

Murina huttoni

Features:The nostril is a tubular projection

Mesotubularis nocturnal. Insectivorous. This species is found in India. It lives in middle and low altitude woodland, but ADAPTS to a variety of habitats, and is active in forest and agricultural areas. The Latin scientific name is sometimes spelled Murina huttonii, and the Chinese name is also call...

Murina harrisoni

Murina harrisoni

Murina harrisoni

Features:Typical of the genus is the tragus, which curves slightly backward and is about half the length of the ear.

A new species published by Csorba & Bates (2005) from specimens collected in Kililong National Park, Cambodia, and classified into the "<cyclotis" group, Wu et al. (2010) reported a new Chinese record found in Jianfengling, Hainan. The type specimens were caught in mist nets in smal...

Murina eleryi

Murina eleryi

Murina eleryi

Features:It is one of the smallest species of tub-nosed bat

The arboreal bat is a rare tree-dwelling bat. It inhabits mountainous forests or clusters of dead leaves, living singly or in small groups. They feed on insects. It was a new species published by Furey et al. (2009), and reported by Francis & Eger (2012) as a new record species in China from sam...

Murina cyclotis

Murina cyclotis

Murina cyclotis

Features:The nose is tubular and the ear shell is nearly round. The dorsal hair is bright russet brown, and the hair base is mostly brown.

Round-eared bats are nocturnal bats that feed on small insects. It lives in tropical or subtropical areas, in forests and agroforestry areas at altitudes of 250-1500m. In Southeast Asia, it mainly inhabits tropical rainforests, but is also more common in coastal areas. It...

Miniopterus pusillus

Miniopterus pusillus

Miniopterus pusillus

Features:The ear shell is short and wide, and the tragus is slender.

Any of several small long-winged bats, endemic in China to the south of the Asian long-winged bat, inhawing rock burrows and often gathering in groups of dozens or hundreds of individuals. Living in the same cave are the great hoofed bat, the Chinese chrysanthemum bat, the sheath tail bat and so on....

Miniopterus fuliginosus

Miniopterus fuliginosus

Miniopterus fuliginosus,Smallbent-wingedbat

Features:The ears are short and round with a small tragus

Asian long-winged bats live in large limestone caves in dark, wet water, gathering in large groups of thousands or even tens of thousands of individuals on top of the cave walls. It has a hibernation habit. They feed on small flying insects, especially hymenoptera and diptera. Miniopterus schreibers...

Plecotus austriacus

Plecotus austriacus

Big eared bat, rabbit eared bat,Plecotus austriacus, ghost bat, brown big eared bat, common big eared bat

Features:

The grey-eared bat has an ear that reaches or exceeds the length of the head, and is also called the grey-eared bat or rabbit-eared bat. It lives in buildings, tree holes and rock caves. Very rare, single or in small groups. He has a hibernation habit. They feed on insects....

Long-eared Bat

Long-eared Bat

Long-eared bat, rabbit-eared bat, ghost bat, brown big-eared bat, common big-eared bat,Long-eared Bat,Plecotus auritus

Features:The ears are very large, wide and long

The big eared bat, also known as the long eared bat or rabbit-eared bat, is characterized by an ear that is longer than the head length. It lives alone and does not mix with other bats. Beginning to sleep in September, the hibernating big-eared bat does not eat or move, the ear is folded under the a...

Scotophilus kuhli

Scotophilus kuhli

Scotophilus kuhli

Features:He is slender and stocky, light brown or olive green in color.

The little Yellow bat, which ranges from sea level to 1100m above sea level, is a highly adaptable bat species. Colonies of tens to hundreds of individuals have been known to congregate in temples, caves, hollow trees, palm leaves, roofs and walls of buildings, abandoned buildings, and tree hollows....

Scotophilus heathi

Scotophilus heathi

Scotophilus heathi

Features:The body color is usually yellowish brown; The belly hair is yellow and bright.

Rhubarb bats are tropical species, living in ancient temples, ancient pagodas, tree holes, ceilings of houses, top floors, etc., living alone or 2-3 groups, or 20, 30 or even hundreds of groups. Come out at night to fly for food. They feed on insects....

Harlequin Bat

Harlequin Bat

Harlequin Bat,Scotomanes ornatus

Features:The ears are long and oval in shape

The species is rare in number and is found in Assam. Inhabits in tropical, temperate wet stone crevices. They live in groups. They go out at dusk and at night to forage in the bamboo forests and around the woods, feeding on insects. They perch on the steep walls of caves or hang from high branches,...