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CLASS: Mammalia
Mammals
Definition:
Features
that unite all mammals include:
1.
The presence of mammalian hair at some stage in life,
2.
Female mammary glands that may produce lactose-rich milk,
3.
A single bone in the lower jaw (dentary bone),
4.
Two occipital condyles (two knobs at the base of the skull that
link the skull to the vertebral column),
5.
Three inner ear bones (incus, malleus and stapes),
6.
A thoracic diaphragm that assists in breathing,
7.
A four-chambered heart with two atria and two ventricles,
8.
Non-nucleated red blood cells,
9. Skull of the synapsid type, lacking temporal fossae,
10.
Transition from milk teeth to permanent teeth, with loss of
continuous tooth replacement, and
11.
Homeothermy ("warm-blooded", though this feature has
many variations).
Mammals
include a diverse and ancient assembly of amniote vertebrates. Though
they are often seen as the "recent" success story that
followed the demise of the large dinosaurs, "true" mammals
actually have their origins in the middle Jurassic. Among living
mammals, only the protherians of Australia, New Guinea, and parts of
eastern Indonesia lay shelled eggs. All other mammals produce live
young.
Mammals
use considerable food resources to produce metabolic heat within
narrow parameters, such that approximately 80% of all food taken is
converted to heat production. Mammals thus must feed more often than
poikilothermic animals. However, homeothermy has allowed mammals to
conquer almost all available environments, from tropics to poles, and
including air, land, sea and fresh water.
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SUPERORDER: Protheria
ORDER: Monotremata--Platypus & echidnas
Diagnosis: Mammals that lay round, leathery
eggs. Young are raised in the mother's pouch and suckled with milk.
Restricted to Australia and New Guinea.
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Families:
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Ornithorhynchidae
Tachyglossidae
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SUPERORDER: Metatheria
ORDER:
Marsupialia--Pouched mammals
Diagnosis:
Mammals that reproduce by giving
birth to tiny late embryonic entities
that crawl into and are suckled
within the female's pouch.
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Families:
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Didelphidae
Caenolestidae
Microbiotheriidae
Thylacinidae
Dasyuridae
Myrmecobiidae
Peramelidae
Thylacomyidae
Notoryctidae
Phascolarctidae
Vombatidae
Phalangeridae
Petauridae
Burramyidae
Macropodidae
Tarsipedidae
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SUPERORDER: Eutheria
Placental mammals
Diagnosis:
The bulk of living mammals,
producing young that are not raised in pouches.
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ORDER: Carnivora—Dogs,
bears & cats
The world's most familiar carnivore,
the dog. This is King, guardian of the VMNH offices. King is primarily German shepherd, with dingo and
Australian blue heeler mix.
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Families:
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Canidae
Felinidae
Ursidae
Procyonidae
Mustelidae
Viverridae
Hyaenidae
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ORDER: Insectivora—Insectivores
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Families:
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Erinaceidae
Solenodontidae
Nesophontidae
Tenrecidae
Chrysochloridae
Soricidae
Talpidae
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ORDER Scandentia—Tree
shrews
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Family:
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Tupaiidae
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ORDER: Primates—Lemurs,
monkeys, apes & humans
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Families:
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Lorisidae
Cheirogaleidae
Lemuridae
Megaladapidae
Indriidae
Daubentoniidae
Tarsiidae
Callitrichidae
Cebidae
Cercopithecidae
Hylobatidae
Pongidae
Hominidae
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ORDER Macroscelidea—Elephant
shrews
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Family:
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Macroscelididae
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ORDER: Cetacea--Whales & dolphins
Diagnosis: Marine
mammals that lack hands and feet, and have a broad, horizontal tail
fluke. The nostrils are situated laterally as a spout or "blow
hole," and are sometimes fused into a single opening.
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Families:
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Neobalaenidae
Balaenidae
Balaenopteridae
Eschrichtidae
Iniidae
Lipotidae
Pontoporiidae
Platanistidae
Delphinidae
Phocoenidae
Monodontidae
Physeteridae
Ziphiidae
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ORDER: Chiroptera—Bats
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Families:
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Pteropodidae
Molossidae
Vespertilionidae
Myzopodidae
Thyropteridae
Furipteridae
Natalidae
Mystacinidae
Phyliostomidae
Noctilionidae
Mormoopidae
Hipposideridae
Rhinolophidae
Megadermatidae
Nycteridae
Crasseonycteridae
Rhinopomatidae
Emballonuridae
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ORDER Tubulidentata--
Aardvark
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Family:
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Orycteropodidae
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ORDER Proboscidea--
Elephants
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Family:
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Elephantidae
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ORDER Pinnipedia—Seals,
sea lions & walrus
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Families:
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Odobenidae
Otariidae
Phocidae
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ORDER: Sirenia—Manatees
& dugongs
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Families:
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Dugongidae
Trichechidae
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ORDER Lagomorpha--
Rabbits
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Families:
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Leporidae
Ochotonidae
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ORDER: Rodentia—Rodents
California
ground squirrel at Pacific Grove, Monterey County,
California. Photo by Dr. Robert Sprackland.
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Families:
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Aplodontidae
Sciuridae
Geomyidae
Heteromyidae
Castoridae
Anomaluridae
Pedetidae
Muridae
Giridae
Seleviniidae
Zapodidae
Ctenodactylidae
Bathyergidae
Dipodidae
Petromuridae
Thryonomyidae
Echimyidae
Abrocomidae
Ctenomyidae
Octodontidae
Capromyidae
Chinchilldae
Dasyproctide
Heptaxodontidae
Dinomyidae
Hydrchaeridae
Caviidae
Erethizontidae
Hystricidae
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ORDER: Hyracoidea—Hyraxes
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Family:
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Procaviidae
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ORDER: Perisiodactylia—Ungulates
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Families:
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Equidae
Rhinocerotidae
Tapiridae
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ORDER: Artiodactylia—Ungulates
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Families:
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Antilocapridae
Bovidae
Cervidae
Camelidae
Giraffidae
Hippopotamidae
Suidae
Tayassuida
Tragulidae
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