> Animal Profiles> Mammals

Anteaters and Relatives (6) Hares / Rabbits / Pikas (1) Bats (2) Hoofed Mammals (16) Carnivores (32) Marsupials (2) Cetaceans (14) Primates (3) Dugongs, Manatees, Sea Cows (2) Research / Discoveries (7) Elephants (5)

Characteristics of Mammals
Mammals display a remarkable array of adaptations that enable them to inhabit a wide range of habitats. Some of their characteristics are shared by no other groups of animals: hair, mammary glands, three specialized middle-ear bones.

An Introduction to Mammals
To understand mammals, it first helps to understand how they fit into the classification system of all animals. Mammals, as a group of animals, belong to the Class Mammalia. The Class Mammalia, in turn, belongs to the larger group known as the vertebrates (animals with backbones; also called the Phylum Chordata).

Quiz: An Introduction to Mammals
Test your knowledge of the basics of mammals in this quiz which covers fundamentals of mammal adaptation, classification, and evolution.

Mammal Adaptation
Mammals have successfully adapted to and colonized a wide variety of habitats including land, air, and water. Their widespread success is largely due to their ability to regulate their own body temperature. But mammals have also evolved many other unique adaptations to help them succeed in numerous environments, as is illustrated by their many forms of locomotion.

Mammal Classification
Animals are classified into groups (such as kindom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species) that reflect how they are related to one another. In this classification system, mammals are grouped into their own class (Class Mammalia) which belongs to the Kingdom Animalia and the Phylum Chordata. The Class Mammalia contains about 21 orders, 140 families, and roughly 4475 species.

Mammal Evolution
Learn about how mammals are classified in the Class Mammalia which contains about 21 orders, 140 families, and roughly 4475 species. Find out more about egg-laying mammals, marsupials, insectivores, bats, and flying lemurs.

Mammal Research and Conservation
Mammal research and conservation is a vast subject. Studies and protection efforts are often aimed at a single species or a small number of species. In the topics that follow, you will find information about various areas of mammal study such as primatology, marine mammal research, carnivore research and many others.

Why are Sloths Slow?
Why are Sloths Slow?