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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.

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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
Golden Tiger

Golden Tiger

Golden Tiger,Strawberry Tiger

Features:Golden background with brown stripes, but the stripes are lighter. Wild populations are extinct.

The golden tiger is a golden variant of the Bengal tiger. It is golden with black stripes. It is extinct in the wild and is even rarer than the snow tiger. It is a rare animal in the world.In some legends, stories and blessings, there are often sayings such as "Golden Tiger Happy New Year"...

Pure White Tiger

Pure White Tiger

Pure White Tiger

Features:The whole body is white, without stripes, and the wild population is extinct

Pure white tigers, as the name suggests, are all white without any stripes. There have only been two pure white Bengal tigers in the world, and wild pure white tigers are now extinct.Pure white tigers live alone and are nocturnal. They mainly feed on ungulates. There is no fixed breeding season. The...

Snow Tiger

Snow Tiger

Snow Tiger

Features:The whole body is snow-white, and the stripes are very light in color

The snow tiger is the result of further mutation of the white tiger gene, with a probability of one in 100,000. It is a silver-white variant of the Bengal tiger, a rare animal in the world. There are only dozens of them in zoos around the world.The snow tiger's fur is whiter than the white tiger...

Bengal White Tiger

Bengal White Tiger

Bengal White Tiger,Bengal Tiger (white),Bengal white tiger, white tiger Bengal white tiger, white tiger

Features:A variation of the Bengal tiger, with white fur and black, gray or chocolate stripes

The albino Bengal tiger (English name: Bengal White Tiger) is also known as the Bengal white tiger, or "white tiger" for short. It is a variant of the Bengal tiger. Due to a genetic mutation, the Bengal tiger's original orange-yellow hair with black stripes has turned into a white-base...

Panthera tigris virgata

Panthera tigris virgata

Panthera tigris virgata,Persian tiger, Xinjiang tiger, Caucasian tiger, Turan tiger, West Asian tiger, Central Asian tiger, Black Sea tiger

Features:Second in size only to the Siberian tiger and the Bengal tiger, now extinct

The Caspian tiger (Latin name: Panthera tigris virgata) is the third largest subspecies of tiger, second only to the Siberian tiger and the Bengal tiger. It became extinct in China in 1916, and then successively became extinct in West Asia and Central Asia, and became extinct in the 1980s.The Caspia...

Panthera tigris tigris

Panthera tigris tigris

Panthera tigris tigris,Bengal Tiger,Indian tiger, Bhutan tiger, Royal Bengal tiger

Features:It is the most numerous and widely distributed tiger subspecies in the world.

Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), also known as Bengal Tiger, is a nominative subspecies of tiger, also known as Indian tiger, and is the most numerous and widely distributed tiger subspecies in the world.The habitat of Bengal tigers is relatively wide. The territory of a tiger ranges from doze...

Panthera tigris ssp. sumatrae

Panthera tigris ssp. sumatrae

Panthera tigris ssp. sumatrae,Sumatran Tiger

Features:Has the darkest fur of all tigers, with narrower stripes than other tiger subspecies

The Sumatran tiger (scientific name: Panthera tigris ssp. sumatrae), also known as the Sumatran Tiger in English, is the smallest subspecies of the same species of tiger.The main food of the Sumatran tiger is sambar deer, wild boar, porcupine, crocodile, baby rhinoceros and baby elephant. Unlike che...

Panthera tigris sondaica

Panthera tigris sondaica

Panthera tigris sondaica,Javan Tiger

Features:The most recently extinct tiger

The Javan tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) is a species of tiger that once lived on the island of Java in Indonesia. It has been extinct since the 1980s. Although there are still reports of sightings, none of them have been confirmed. The Javan tiger is the third subspecies of tiger living in Indone...

Panthera tigris jacksoni

Panthera tigris jacksoni

Panthera tigris jacksoni,Malayan Tiger,Malayan tiger, Malaysian tiger

Features:It is the third smallest tiger, slightly larger than the Sumatran tiger and the Bali tiger.

The Malayan tiger (scientific name: Panthera tigris jacksoni) is the third smallest tiger, slightly larger than the Sumatran tiger and the Bali tiger, and equivalent to the average weight of an African lioness. The Malayan tiger is a newly confirmed tiger subspecies in 2004. It is distributed in Mal...

Panthera tigris corbetti

Panthera tigris corbetti

Panthera tigris corbetti,Indochinese tiger, Corbett tiger

Features:Compared to other tigers, it has darker fur and shorter, narrower stripes.

The Indochinese tiger has the ability to camouflage itself in tall grass and trees and is a solitary animal. They have a strong sense of territory and their sociality only occurs during the mating season. Others of the same sex are not allowed in their territory.The Indochinese tiger is a carnivore...

Panthera tigris balica

Panthera tigris balica

Panthera tigris balica ,Bali Tiger

Features:It is the smallest species of modern tiger and is extinct.

The scientific name of the Bali tiger is Panthera tigris balica (Schwarz, 1912), and its foreign name is Bali Tiger. It is a subspecies of the Panthera tigris balica of the Felidae family. It is the smallest of modern tigers, with a body size less than 1/3 of other northern tigers. It is extinct.The...

Panthera tigris amoyensis

Panthera tigris amoyensis

Panthera tigris amoyensis ,south China tiger,Chinese tiger, South China tiger, Xiamen tiger,Amoyensis

Features:It is a subspecies of tiger unique to China and is extinct in the wild.

The South China tiger (Latin name: Panthera tigris amoyensis) is a subspecies of tiger unique to China. It is only distributed in China and lives in central and southern China. It is also called the "Chinese tiger" and is extinct in the wild.South China tigers mainly live in forests and mo...

Panthera tigris ssp. altaica

Panthera tigris ssp. altaica

Panthera tigris ssp. altaica, Amur Tiger、Altaic Tiger、Korean Tiger、North Chinese Tiger、Ussuri Tiger, Tigre de Sibérie,Tigr,Siberian tiger, Manchurian tiger, Korean tiger, Amur tiger

Features:The largest cat on earth

The Siberian tiger (scientific name: Panthera tigrisssp.altaica) is a subspecies of tiger. It is the largest cat species. Its name, like other tigers, comes from where it once roamed. 100 years ago, the species was active in a wide range of Siberia, the Russian Far East, Northeast China...

Panthera leo spelaea

Panthera leo spelaea

Panthera leo spelaea,Felis leo major,European cave lion, Eurasian cave lion

Features:Prehistoric beasts that once lived in Siberia

Cave lion (scientific name: Panthera leo spelaea) synonymous scientific name Felis leo major, also known as European cave lion, is an extinct cat species, a close relative of modern lions, but larger in size.Cave lion originated from a large cat species that lived in Africa in the early Pleistocene...

Panthera leo somaliensis

Panthera leo somaliensis

Panthera leo somaliensis,Somali Lion

Features:It is the smallest subspecies of lion in existence.

The scientific name of the Somali lion is Panthera leo somaliensis. It is the original subspecies of lion and the smallest subspecies of lion in existence. It is smaller than the Asiatic lion (Persian lion) and is now one of the Nubian lion populations.Somali lions usually hunt at night or in the co...

Panthera leo senegalensis

Panthera leo senegalensis

West African lion

Features:West African male lions have shorter manes, which are not as dense even when fully grown.

The scientific name of the West African lion is Panthera leo senegalensis, and its foreign name is West African lion. It was once widely distributed in the African continent except for the central Sahara Desert and tropical rainforests, and also distributed in small quantities in India. However, due...

Panthera leo roosevelti

Panthera leo roosevelti

Panthera leo roosevelti,Abyssinian lion, Ethiopian lion

Features:The long tentacles and short whiskers under the jaw are white, the ears are round and upright, and the back of the ears are black

The scientific name of the Roosevelt lion is Panthera leo roosevelti, which belongs to the subfamily of lions and is now one of the Nubian lion populations.The Roosevelt lion usually hunts at night or in the cool early morning, and likes to hunt at night. The prey includes antelopes, duikers, wildeb...

Panthera leo persica

Panthera leo persica

Panthera leo persica,Asiatic Lion,Persian lion, lion

Features:It is the smallest of all lion subspecies.

The Asiatic Lion (scientific name: Panthera leo persica) is a subspecies of lion that now only survives in India. They were once distributed from the Mediterranean to India, occupying most of Southwest Asia, so it is called the "Persian subspecies".In India, the Asiatic lion is the animal...

Panthera leo massaicus

Panthera leo massaicus

East African lion, Masai lion

Features:It is the largest subspecies of lion in existence.

The Masai lion is the original subspecies of lion, commonly known as the East African lion. It is now the Nubian lion population: Panthera leo massaicus.Lionesses in a pride may enter a mating state at any time, and the lionesses are always synchronized in this regard. Scientists have not yet fully...

Panthera leo melanochaitus

Panthera leo melanochaitus

Panthera leo melanochaitus,Cape Lion, Cape Lion, Cape Town Lion

Features:The lion once lived at the southernmost tip of the Earth

The Cape lion (scientific name: Panthera leo melanochaitus), also known as the Cape lion, is a species of lion that lived in the southernmost tip of Africa and is now extinct.Many people think that the Cape lion is a subspecies of lion, but in fact, the Cape lion is not a subspecies of lion. Accordi...

Panthera leo leo

Panthera leo leo

Panthera leo leon,Barbary lion,North African lion, Atlas lion

Features:The lion was the first to be known to Europeans and is also the first of the three giants of North African carnivores.

Barbary lion (scientific name: Panthera leo leo), also known as North African lion and Atlas lion, is the second largest subspecies of lion and also the nominative subspecies of lion. Compared with other African lions, they are most closely related to Asian lions.Barbary lions were once found throug...