Mammals Like You!

So What’s a Mammal?

• Fur & sweat glands• Mammary glands (milk)• Endothermic

Class Mammalia Subclasses:

• Monotremes– 5 egg laying species,

including platypus.• Marsupials– females carry young in

pouch after short gestation

• Placentals– Live young born at

large size, no pouch.

Rodents

Bats

Shrews

Primates

Carnivora

Rodents• Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents,

characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing.[1][2]

• Forty percent of mammal species are rodents, and they are found in vast numbers on all continents other than Antarctica. Common rodents include mice, rats, squirrels, porcupines, beavers, chipmunks, guinea pigs, and voles.[1] Rodents have sharp incisors that they use to gnaw wood, break into food, and bite predators. Most eat seeds or plants, though some have more varied diets. Some species have historically been pests, eating seeds stored by people[3] and spreading disease[4].

• The name comes from the Latin word rodere "to gnaw".

Capybera: the 80 kg rodent

Eastern Grey Squirrel

Rattus rattus (no joke)

Bats: Order Chiroptera

Bats: Flying Mammals

• Most eat insects, many others eat fruit.

• Nocturnal, use sound and hearing to hunt.

• Some feed on the blood of mammals

Bat Wings

• Bat wings are adapted hand structures

Order Soricomorpha: shrews, moles, and Allies

• Similar to rodents in appearance and habits.• Key difference: teeth are pointy and don’t

grow continuously.

Order Carnivora: The Carnivores

• Members have sharp claws, sharp canine teeth, and digestive system designed for a diet of mostly meat

Families in Order Carnivora• Carnivora includes

many familiar families of mammals, including:– Felines– Canines– Bears (ursaforms)– Others (mongooses,

racoons, walruses, etc.)

The Primates

• Mandrill pictured

What makes a Primate?

• A partial list of primate characteristics:– 5 digits including opposable thumbs.– Highly developed color vision– Enlarged, differentiated cerebral cortex (big

brains)– 3 kinds of teeth, 2 pectoral mammary glands.– Many others…

Swinging on the branches of he

family tree

Primate Family Tree

Family Hominidae

You & Me

• Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: MammaliaOrder: PrimatesFamily: Hominidae

Subfamily: HomininaeTribe: Hominini

Genus: HomoSpecies: H. sapiens