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A mammal (from Latin mamma 'breast') [1] is a vertebrate animal of the class Mammalia (/ m ... These characteristics distinguish them from reptiles and birds, ...
These characteristics distinguish them from reptiles and birds, from which their ancestors diverged in the Carboniferous Period over 300 million years ago. Around 6,400 extant species of mammals have been described and divided into 27 orders. The study of mammals is called mammalogy.
In 1997, the classification of mammals was revised by Malcolm C. McKenna and Susan K. Bell. [10] The Classification of Mammals Above the species level, here referred to as the "McKenna/Bell classification", is a comprehensive work on the systematics, relationships, and occurrences of all mammal taxa, living and extinct, down through the rank of ...
The higher taxonomy used for the ungulates of this order is based primarily on the Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Volume 2 on hoofed mammals, including the subfamily and tribal affiliations in each family. The order includes about 242 recognized ungulate species, along with 6 recently extinct species.
Placental mammals (infraclass Placentalia / p l æ s ə n ˈ t eɪ l i ə /) are one of the three extant subdivisions of the class Mammalia, the other two being Monotremata and Marsupialia. Placentalia contains the vast majority of extant mammals, which are partly distinguished from monotremes and marsupials in that the fetus is carried in the ...
Eutheria (from Greek εὐ-, eú-'good, right' and θηρίον, thēríon 'beast'; lit. ' true beasts '), also called Pan-Placentalia, is the clade consisting of placentals and all therian mammals that are more closely related to placentals than to marsupials.
Felidae (/ ˈ f ɛ l ɪ d iː /) is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats.A member of this family is also called a felid (/ ˈ f iː l ɪ d /). [3] [4] [5] [6]
The term "marine mammal" encompasses all mammals whose survival depends entirely or almost entirely on the oceans, which have also evolved several specialized aquatic traits. In addition to the above, several other mammals have a great dependency on the sea without having become so anatomically specialized, otherwise known as "quasi-marine ...