The mammalian are also known as mammals. They are warm blooded. The heart is 4 chambered in the mammals with 2 auricles and 2 ventricles. The renal system is not developed. The process of excretion and respiration occurs by a pair of kidneys which are metanephric and by the use of lungs respectively. They have the internal mode of fertilization. They have red blood cells which are convex and are non nucleated and oval in shape. They have urinary bladder and have urea as their main excretory product. They also show sexual dimorphism. The embryonic membranes do occur. They have 24 cranial nerves. The ear is divided into three parts which are known as external, middle and internal parts. Their skull has two condyles and is known as dicondylic. They have a milk producing glands. The skin contains oil as well as sweat glands. They have 7 cervical vertebrae. They have different types of teeth known as heterodont. They are present in the sockets of jaw known as thecodont. The teeth are formed two times during the life time of an individual. It is known as diphyodont. The teeth occur in both the upper and the lower jaw. Their body is divided into head, thorax and abdomen. The division between thorax and abdomen occurs by the diaphragm. The coelom has different cavities. The pericardial cavity contains the heart. The pleural cavities are two in number. They contain a lung. The abdominal cavities have the rest of abdomen. A well developed placenta is also present. The external ear is also known as pinna. The middle ear has ear ossicles which are 3 in number. These are known as malleus, incus and stapes. There is an organ of corti which is present in the internal ear. The mammals also have a penis which is the copulatory organ. They occur almost everywhere in the world. There are nearly 5000 species of the living mammals and occur in deserts, oceans and mountains. They have a well developed brain which helps to learn. The brain has cerebrum and cerebellum. The optic lobes are further divided into different lobes. The two cerebral hemispheres are connected.
The mammals are further divided into different groups. These are prototheria, metatheria and eutheria. The prototheria are oviparous and have no pinna. They have no nipples and a marsupial pouch. They have no scrotum and abdominal testes. The placenta is also absent. They have a cloaca which opens through aperture. They have a partially developed corpus callosum. The metatheria are viviparous and have pinna. They have nipples and a marsupial pouch. They have scrotum but no abdominal testes. The placenta is present which is not fully developed. They have a cloaca which opens through aperture. They have a partially developed corpus callosum. They also have sphincter muscles. The eutheria are viviparous and have pinna. They have nipples and no marsupial pouch. They have scrotum and no abdominal testes. The placenta is present which is fully developed. They have urino genital and digestive outlets which open through separate aperture. They have a well developed corpus callosum.
There are four evolutionary lines of placenta mammals. It includes the insectivorous line, rodents and rabbits, whales and dolphins, elephant and carnivores. The insectivorous line includes the primitive placental mammals. They eat the insects. It consists of bats and primates. The rodents and rabbits have no canine teeth. They have incisors which help in the gnawing. The whales and dolphins are aquatic mammals. They do have placenta and a flipper which helps in the functioning like a fore limb. They do not have a hind limb. The elephants and carnivores consists of padded feet elephants. The hooves are absent. The elephant trunk is a modified nose and the tusks are a modified incisor. The carnivores are mainly flesh eating animals.
The phylum mammalian is divided into different orders. It includes insectivore, dermoptera, chiroptera, edentate, pholidoto, primates, rodentia, lagomorpha etc. The insectivores are insect eating mammals. They are of the primitive type and do possess a placenta. They have abdominal testes. It includes the water shrew which is the smallest mammal. It is almost equal to the size of thumb. The dermoptera are skin wing animals. They have a skin fold made up of hair and is known as patagium. It extends from neck to tail. It helps in the gliding. They have similar limbs which are 4 in number. They are active during the night and lives on trees. It includes the flying lemur. The flying lemurs are neither proper lemurs and are not able to fly. The chiroptera is known as the hand wing animals. It includes the bats which are aerial mammals. Its forelimbs form the wings. They feed on blood and are known as sanguivorous. Their main target is mammals and man. They locate the insects in the dark. They have the capacity to echolocate. It also includes flying foxes and vampire bats. The flying foxes are larger in size. The vampire bats are smaller in size. The main target is cattle and horses. They do attack other mammals also. They can cause certain diseases also.
The edentate are toothless mammals. They have poorly developed molars. It includes sloths and armadillos. The pholidata are horny scale mammals. They have a overlapping horny scales. They do have a little hair also. They have no teeth and include the Manis which is an ant eater. The primates are first rank mammals. Their brain is well developed. It includes prosimians means that these organisms were present before monkey. It also includes the simians. The simians include the apes, man and monkeys. The order rodentia consists of gnawing mammals. It includes the rats, mice and guinea pigs. They have a couple of incisors. These are like chisel. They have no canines. A space is present between incisors and the other teeth which are referred as a diastema. The lagomorpha are hare like organisms. They have a couple of incisors in the upper jaw and a single incisor in the lower jaw. It includes the rabbit and hares. The order cetacea is also known as whale. It includes fish like organisms which live in the aquatic environment. Their fore limbs are like fins. They have no hind limbs. They have abdominal testes. They have a thick layer of fat which is referred as blubber. It acts as a good reserve of the food. It also acts as an insulator. They have no pinnae. Hair and sweat glands are absent. The whale is the largest living mammal. There are no pelvic girdles and hind limbs. The vestiges of pelvic girdle are present in the green land whales. It also includes the bones of hind limbs. The order carnivora includes the flesh eating animals. They have sharp canines. They also have strong jaws. They have well developed claws. It includes dog, cat, wolf, seal and tiger etc. They have the fastest runner known as cheetah. It can run up to 120 kilometer in an hour. The order proboscidea includes the in front top eat animals. They have a long trunk which forms the nose and upper lip. The tusks are modified incisors and are long. They have no canines and are the largest living animals on planet earth. The sea cows are included in this order. The order sirenia includes the sea nymph. They are aquatic animals and are herbivorous. They have fore limbs but no hind limbs. The fore limbs resemble a fin. The hair and external ear are absent. They have abdominal testes. They have a thick layer of fat which is referred as blubber. It acts as a good reserve of the food. It also acts as an insulator. They show sexual dimorphism. The males have tusks. The order perrisodactyla includes the odd toes. They are herbivorous and have an odd toe. They are the hoofed mammals. The odd toes mean that the toes can be 1 or 3. The true horns are absent. They have a non ruminating type of stomach. They are not cud chewing. It includes horses, zebra, mule and asses. The order artiodactyla means the even digit mammals. They are herbivorous and have an even toe. The toe can be 2 or 4 in number. They are the hoofed mammals. The true horns are present. They have a ruminating type of stomach. They are cud chewing mammals. It includes the cow and camels. Their stomach is 4 chambered and has ability to digest cellulose. They have the micro organisms to digest cellulose.
The ornithorhynchus are also known as the duck billed platypus. They are the egg laying mammals which lay egg in the nests. The nests are composed of grass and leaves. They have a broad beak which is flat like a duck. They have small eyes and do not have any pinnae. Their limbs have webs which help the organism to swim. They have mammary glands without the nipples. They show sexual dimorphism. The males have spur on the hind limb. The hind limb has a poison gland. Their egg laying abilities, excretory system and the endo skeletal features are quite common with the reptiles. They occur mainly in Australia and on other islands.
The kangaroo are also known as macropus. They are herbivorous and occur in the groups. They are of marsupial type. They show sexual dimorphism. The males are larger than size as compared with females. The females have a marsupial pouch. They bear the young ones in this pouch. They occur mainly in Australia and on other islands. Their leather is water proof. The young ones have the ability to crawl to pouch. Their flesh is eaten. The shrew is also known as the sorex. They have a musky odor. Their saliva has a poisonous substance that can capture the prey. They cannot be tamed. They are the smallest mammals on earth but have the ability to kill large animals. The hedge hog resides in bushes. It is active during the night. It feeds on other animals. It includes insects, birds and snakes. On change in the environment they become ball shape. Their skin is covered with spine along with short spines. They help in the protection of body.
The bats are the aerial mammals. They have the ability to fly and have weak legs. They are nocturnal as they have no functional eyes. They have a well developed radar system and have an echo apparatus. They emit supersonic sounds. The sounds move through air and strike through air. They strike to the object and are turned back. These are picked by ears. They have the young ones which are blind. They are naked and clinged to the body of mother. They have a system of warning echoes.
The bats are further divided as carnivorous and furgivorous. The carnivorous bats are of small size. They eat insects. It destroys the insects and is useful. The furgivorous bats are of small size. They eat fruits. It destroys the fruits and is harmful. They also bring about cross pollination. They left the pulp and eat the rest of fruit.
There are a lot of differences between a small and large bat. The small bat is insect eating with a short stout. They have a tail with only a first finger. They have a large interfemoral which includes the tail. They occur in both the hemispheres. The large bat is fruit eating with an elongated stout. They have no tail with a first and second finger. They have a narrow interfemoral which does not include the tail. They occur in the deserted areas. The large bats have a small and simple pinna. It does not contain the earlets. They have external nares which are without nose leaves. The small bats have a big and complex pinna. It does contain the earlets. They have external nares which are surrounded by nose leaves. The armadillo is also known as dasypus. It occurs in the North America. They also occur in the South America. They are the mammals which do have a plate which is made up of bones. The plates are covered by hairs. When it sees a danger it roll ups. This step helps in the protection. They are active during the night. They also act as a scavenger. They live in burrows and have a clawed digit. They show poly embryony. The zygote gives rise to 4 to 8 young ones. The Manis is also known as scaly anteater. It occurs in Asia and Africa. It occurs in Assam and Sikkim in India. The epidermal scales are present everywhere on the body except snout. They are active during the night. It has strong claws with a sticky and protrusible tongue. They do not have a tooth. When it sees a danger it roll ups. This step helps in the protection. Their pyloric stomach resembles to that of the gizzard of bird.
The prosimians include lemurs, lorises and tarsiers. They are not monkey like. They occur on tress and have large eyes. They have a color vision. The lemur is also known as the ghost. They occur on the islands and have a long tail. They have laterally directed eyes. They have a poor vision. The Loris occurs in India and has eyes which are forwardly directed. They have no tail. The tarsier occurs in Philippines and other islands. They have a long region of tarsal foot known as tarsier. It has large eyes which has a tuft of hairs at the terminal region of tail. The simians include the monkey, apes and man. The monkeys are of different types. They can be new or old world monkeys. The new world monkeys are also known as South American monkeys. The old world monkeys are also known as African and Asian monkeys. The new world monkeys occur in South America. They are arboreal and have a flat nose. They have a prehensile tail. They have no callosities and cheek pouches. They have a wide set of nostrils. It includes the spider monkey. The old world monkeys occur in Asia and Africa. They are arboreal as well as terrestrial and have a raised nose. They have a non prehensile tail. They have the callosities and cheek pouches. They have a narrow set of nostrils.
The apes resemble to the man. They have no tail and have a long fore limbs. They have common ancestors. They show various face expressions. They are omnivorous and occur in groups. They are diurnal and arboreal. The brow ridges are prominent. They can communicate by vocal means. It includes the gibbon, gorilla and orangutan. The gibbon is the smallest and cleanest ape. Their vocal power is very remarkable. It occurs in India especially in Assam. The orangutans are also known as pongo. They make a nest on the top of tree. They occur in islands. The chimpanzee is known as pan. They are quite intelligent and occur in Africa. They are very close relative of men. They are very efficient tree climbers and they search for fruits and eggs of the birds. The gorilla is the largest ape. They are very dangerous and occur in Africa. They are gregarious with the male as their leader. They rely on food and root as their food source.
The Homo sapiens are also known as the man. It is the most dominant mammal. It is a social animal. The thumbs are opposite with the erect posture. He is the most intelligent person who has an ability to learn the new things. The hairs are sparse in structure. The facial gestures are quite developed. The common house rat is also known as the rattus rattus. It is active during the night. It shows sexual dimorphism. They are a great breeder. It goes under hibernation. It is one of the most destructive pests. They destroy the foods and clothes. It is also pathogenic as it causes bubonic plaque. It also causes rat bite fever.
The cavia is also known as guinea pig. They have no canines but do have the incisors. The empty space present in between the teeth is known as diastema. The tail is absent. They are a great breeder. They act as a good laboratory material. The striped squirrel is also known as funambulus. . It is active during the night. It goes under hibernation. It mainly feeds on fruits and is known as furgivorous. They occur almost everywhere in the world. They are mainly black in color with the strips of dark color. Their body is elongated with longitudinal strips. The hystrix is also known as porcupine. It occurs on rocks and in the hill stations. It is active during the night. It is one of the most destructive pests. They have spines which are long and rigid. They play a protective role.
The rabbit is also known as oryctolagus cuniculus. It feeds on plants and moves in twilight for playing and feeding. It has the ability to eat its own fecal matter and this is referred as a coprophagy. They are cursorial. They run vey swiftly. It is polygamous and fossorial. One of the male is surrounded by many females. It is an excellent breeder and fossorial. It matures when he is 6 months old. It breeds 4 times a year. It gives rise to 5 to 8 young ones. The female rabbit shows parental care like humans. Their incisor teeth are visible due to the presence of longitudinal grooves on the lips known as hare lip. They have a snout which has long stiff hairs known as vibrissae. Their fur is of multipurpose use. They destroy the sports grounds due to their digging habits.
There are a lot of differences between a hare and rabbit. The rabbit is fossorial and is gregarious. It is crepuscular and can be domestically used. It gives rise to 6 to 8 young ones. They have small hind limbs and pinnae. The young ones are blind, hairless and deaf. They have strong fore and hind limbs which help in the burrowing. The hare is also known as Lepus. The hare lives under bushes or grasses. It leaves alone. It leads a wild life. It is active during the night. They have comparatively large hind limbs and pinnae. The young ones are not blind and hairless neither deaf. They have not so strong fore and hind limbs.
The blue whale is also known as balaenoptera musculus. It is the largest mammal. They occur in the ocean and are gregarious and carnivorous. They swim with a powerful tail. They have forelimbs which are known as flippers. Their length is around 35 meter and it weighs around 150 tones. The hairs are present on the lips and are absent everywhere. They have no sweat glands and oil glands. They have no pinnae and its oil used for multipurpose things. The platanista is also known as gangetic dolphin. They occur in most of the major seas of India. They have well adapted jaw. This helps to eat crustaceans and cat fish. They have both the upper and lower jaw. These both jaws bear teeth. They have 2 pectoral fins. They are triangular in shape. The dorsal fin is not functional. They are referred as a fleshy ridge. They have no sweat and oil glands.
The lion is also known as panthera Leo. It occurs in Africa and India. The gir forest in Gujarat is their main place of habitat. It is a wild life sanctuary in India. They are carnivorous and show the sexual dimorphism. The male has longer hairs and show parental care. They take food for young ones and take good care. They have more than 100 days of gestation. The female has the ability to give rise to litter after few months. The tiger is also known as panthera Tigris. It occurs in India and China. They occur in evergreen forest. It occurs in humid areas. They are good swimmers. They are striped and have a short hair. The tiger is larger than lion. They have digitigrades limbs. They have well developed claws. They are the national animal of our country. They have very well formed canine teeth which help in feeding.
The common mongoose is known as herpestes. They are present almost everywhere in India and are carnivorous. They have short legs. They produce around 5 litters in a year. They form 10 to 15 off springs. They show an interesting fight with snake. They have small ears which are circular in shape. The walrus is also known as odobenus. They are carnivorous and occur in the Arctic Ocean. They have long canines in the upper jaw. They have short pinnae and have sensory bristles in the upper lip. The canines direct downwards and form tusks. They show the sexual dimorphism. The tusks help in eating the food. They show more movement on the land. Their fore limbs are modified into paddles. They are the main swimming organs. The hind limbs are also helpful in swimming. They are turned forward. They have a large penis and they breed on land. The seal is also known as phoca. They are also carnivorous. They are mainly marine. They breed on land. They occur in groups. They have paddle like limbs. Their digits are webbed and help in swimming. They are a good source of oil.
The elephant is also known as the largest land animals. They have modified nose and upper lip. They give rise to trunk. The trunk is also known as proboscis. They have tusks which are modifies incisors. The old animals have large tusk. They show the sexual dimorphism with the males having large tusks as compared with the females. These tusks play a vital role in protection and nutrition. They mainly depend upon the plants for survival. There are different types of elephant. The Indian elephant and African elephant are the main two types of elephants. The Indian elephants as the name suggests occur in southern part of Asia. They have small and triangular pinnae. They have small tusks with the rounded back. They can be used for domestic purposes. They have a high domed forehead with a cleft and their body is around 3 meter high. The African elephants as the name suggests occur in Africa. They have large and rounded pinnae. They have large tusks with the concave back. They cannot be used for domestic purposes. They have a low forehead without a cleft and their body is around 3 and a half meter high.
The African zebra is also known as equus. They move swiftly. They have no horns but have a striped body. They run on the digits without touching the heels and are known as unguligrade feet. They have long hairs. No two zebras are same as they have different structures of strips. They are just like the thumb impressions of human beings. They have a good sense of hearing and smell. They reside on grasses and have a very good power of learning. The tapir is also known as tapirus. It occurs in the different parts of America and Asia. It is of the primitive type. It feeds on plants and is active during the night. The nose and upper lip forms the snout. It is short in size.
The rhinoceros is also known as the Indian one horned rhinoceros. It occurs in India and Nepal. In India it occurs in Assam. They reside on grasses and do not occur in groups. They do not have hairs on their body. They have a thick skin. Some of them have two horns. The horns grow and are replaced later on. Their urine and horn is of medicinal value. Their urine is also used for ghosts and spirits. The people have a popular belief about rhino in Nepal. The hippopotamus is also known as a river horse. It occurs mainly in rivers. It is active during the night. During the day time it remains in the water. So it leads life both on land and water and it is referred as amphibious organism. They do not have hairs on their body. They have a thick skin. It occurs in groups and feeds on grass. They can submerge in water nearly up to 5 minutes. They have a short tail. This tail is compressed laterally. In order to live in water they have a nostrils, ears and eyes on the dorsal side. They have a short and powerful neck. They have short limbs which are not fully webbed.
The camel is also known as camelus. It is of different types. There are mainly two types of camels known as Arabian camel and Bactrian camel. The Arabian camel has a 1 hump. It occurs in the Asia and America. The Bactrian camel has 2 humps. It also occurs in the Asia and America.They have certain features which help them to adapt to desert conditions. They have a hump which acts as a reservoir for food. The food is in the form of fat. It also contains water. They have two digits in each of the limbs. This condition is known as didactylous. They are supported by pad which helps the animal to walk on any type of surface. Their eyes and nostrils have a covering of hairs. These structures protect them from sand particles. Their stomach is 3 chambered. It consists of rumen, reticulum and abomasums. It also has a wall which forms the number of pockets known as water pockets. It helps to store water when there is a shortage of water. These pockets are not able to hold the water for so long. The water is lost by urine and the amount of water which is lost is not much. They have the red blood cells which are oval in shape. They are mostly without the nucleus. Some of the camels do have red blood cells which has no nucleus.
The giraffe is also known as giraffa. It has small tail. It is the tallest mammal. Its height can range up to 20 feet. Their body is yellow in color. They have a brown spots which are separated by white spaces. They show sexual dimorphism and have horns which are not unbranched. They have no canines. Their tongue is long and sensitive. They are used in the search of trees. They have a long neck and consist of 7 cervical vertebrae. They have forelimbs as well as hind limbs. The fore limbs are longer than the hind limbs.
