Mammalia

Mammals are any vertebrates within the class Mammalia, a clade of endothermic amniotes distinguished from reptiles and birds by the possession of a neocortex, hair, three middle ear bones and mammary glands. The sister group of mammals may be the extinct Haldanodon. The mammals represent the only living Synapsida, which together with the Sauropsida form the Amniota clade. Mammals include the largest animals on the planet, the great whales, as well as some of the most intelligent, such as elephants, primates and cetaceans.

Artiodactyla

The even-toed ungulates are ungulates (hoofed animals) whose weight is borne equally by the third and fourth toes. By contrast, odd-toed ungulates, such as horses, bear their weight primarily on their third toe. The aquatic Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) evolved from even-toed ungulate ancestors.

Carnivora

Carnivora is a diverse order that includes over 280 species of placental mammals. Its members are formally referred to as carnivorans, whereas the word "carnivore" (often popularly applied to members of this group) can refer to any meat-eating organism.

Chiroptera

Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera (/kaɪˈrɒptərə/; from the Ancient Greek: χείρ - cheir, "hand" and Ancient Greek: πτερόν - pteron, "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight.

Hyracoidea

Hyraxes, also called dassies, are small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. Hyraxes are well-furred, rotund animals with short tails. Typically, they measure between 30 and 70 cm (12 and 28 in) long and weigh between 2 and 5 kg (4.4 and 11 lb). They are superficially similar to pikas or rodents, but are more closely related to elephants and manatees.

Lagomorpha

The Lagomorphs are the members of the taxonomic order Lagomorpha, of which there are two living families: the Leporidae (hares and rabbits) and the Ochotonidae (pikas). There are 102 extant species of lagomorph, including 37 species of pika, 33 species of rabbit and cottontail, and 32 species of hare.

Perissodactyla

Members of the order Perissodactyla, otherwise known as odd-toed ungulates, are mammals characterized by an odd number of toes and by hindgut fermentation with somewhat simple stomachs. Unlike the even-toed ungulates, they digest plant cellulose in their intestines rather than in one or more stomach chambers.

Pilosa

The order Pilosa is a group of placental mammals, extant today only in the Americas. It includes the anteaters and sloths, including the extinct ground sloths, which became extinct about 10,000 years ago. The name comes from the Latin word for 'hairy'.

Primates

A primate is a mammal of the order Primates. In taxonomy, primates include two distinct lineages, strepsirrhines and haplorhines. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment.

Proboscidea

The Proboscidea are a taxonomic order of afrotherian mammals containing one living family (Elephantidae) and several extinct families. First described by J. Illiger in 1811, it encompasses the elephants and their close relatives. From the mid-Miocene onwards, most proboscideans were very large.

Rodentia

Rodents (from Latin rodere, "to gnaw") are mammals of the order Rodentia, which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents; they are found in vast numbers on all continents except Antarctica.

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Last updated: 20/01/2017

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