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DNA evidence supports this hypothesis, and the small modern hyraxes share numerous features with elephants, such as toenails, excellent hearing, sensitive pads on their feet, small tusks, good memory, higher brain functions compared with other similar mammals, and the shape of some of their bones.
The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the only surviving members of the order Monotremata. [3] The diet of some species consists of ants and termites, but they are not closely related to the American true anteaters or to hedgehogs .
Similarities to fossorial mammals resulted from ecological convergence, not ancestry. The eyes are vestigial and that is why they are covered by skin. The optic nerve is degenerate because they live underground where there is little use of them. The external ear pinnae are absent as well as the external tail.
The class Mammalia is divided into two subclasses based on reproductive techniques: egg-laying mammals (yinotherians or monotremes - see also Australosphenida), and mammals which give live birth . The latter subclass is divided into two infraclasses: pouched mammals ( metatherians or marsupials ), and placental mammals ( eutherians , for which ...
Monotremes (/ ˈ m ɒ n ə t r iː m z /) are mammals of the order Monotremata. They are the only group of living mammals that lay eggs, rather than bearing live young. The extant monotreme species are the platypus and the four species of echidnas. Monotremes are typified by structural differences in their brains, jaws, digestive tract ...
The female desert hedgehog gives birth to up to six young, in a burrow or concealed nest, after a gestation period of around 30 to 40 days. The young are born deaf and blind, and with the quills located just under the skin, to prevent damage to the female during birth. The quills emerge within a few hours, and the eyes open after around 21 days.
Octodontidae is a family of small rodents restricted to southwestern South America. A member of this family is called an octodontid. Octodontids are medium-sized rodents, ranging from 12 to 20 centimetres (4.7 to 7.9 inches) in body length. They have long, silky fur, which is typically brownish in color and often paler on the underside.
Feral cats (Felis catus) target small mammals as prey, such as native rodents. Photo: Megan Moppett. Introduced predators such as the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) [28] and feral cat (Felis catus) have detrimental impacts on dusky hopping mouse populations. [23] [29] Where cat and fox abundance is high, dusky hopping mouse populations decline.