Introduction to

Mammal Diversity

Numbers of Species of Living Organisms

1,000,000
900,000
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0

Fungi

72,000

Algae

40,000

Amphibians

4,200

Reptiles

6,300

Flowering Plants

270,000

Birds

9,000

Insects

950,000

Mammals

4,000

Mammal Numbers

Depending on which source you

consult:
Total number of mammal species
currently identified is between
4,000 and 5,500
26 to 29 orders of mammals

Notes on mammal evolution

Modern mammals evolved from a group of
reptile-like animals 200 million years ago
during the Jurassic period
When mammals arose, the earth was all
one continent, the climate was warmer,
dinosaurs were the dominant animals
First true mammals were small, shrew-like
and nocturnal with a well-developed sense
of smell (195 million years ago)
Following the Cretaceous-Tertiary
extinction 65 million years ago, mammals
diversified into many forms we see today

Mammal Taxonomy

Kingdom
Phylum
Subphylum
Class

Animalia
Chordata
Vertebrata
Mammalia

Monotremes Marsupials Placental Mammals

Source: MSWIII
Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (eds). 2005. Mammal Species of
the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2,142 pp. (Available
from Johns Hopkins University Press, 1-800-537-5487 or
(410) 516-6900 http://www.press.jhu.edu/.)

Three Major Groups of Mammals

Differences in embryonic development:
Monotreme: Young hatch from leathery eggs that are

similar to reptile eggs. The mammary glands have

separate openings (no nipple) and the young lap milk
from tufts of fur rather than suckling as in marsupials and
placental mammals.
Marsupial: Short gestation, no placenta in majority of
species, young born early in development, young attach
to nipple (often in pouch) to suckle and complete
development.
Placental Mammal: Longer gestation, young are
nourished prior to birth via the placenta attached to the
uterus wall. Live birth; young suckle.

Orders of Mammals

Monotremes (5)
Marsupialsseven
orders (331)
Pangolins (8)
Armadillos (21)
Anteaters, sloths,
tamanduas (10)
Rabbits, hares (93)
Rodents (2,277)
Elephant shrews
(15)
Primates (376)
Tree shrews (20)
Colugos (2)
Bats (1,116)

Otter shrews, golden

moles, tenrecs (51)
Hedgehogs, moonrats,
gymnures (24)
Shrews, moles (428)
Carnivores (287)
Even-toed ungulates (240)
Whales, dolphins,
porpoises (84)
Aardvark (1)
Odd-toed ungulates (17)
Hyraxes (4)
Manatees, dugongs (5)
Elephants (3)

Mammal Physical Characteristics

Defining characteristics:
1. Hair/fur
2. Production of milk by
modified sweat glands,
called mammary glands
3. Middle ear consists of
chain of three bones;
lower jaw is a single
bone
Mountain goat

Illustration from Occupational and Health Safety Administration

www.osha.gov

Other Physical Characteristics

of Mammals

Ectothermic (warm-blooded)
Toes end in nails, claws, or hooves
Seven vertebrae in neck
Different types of teeth: incisors, canines,
premolars, molars (number and shape
vary); teeth replaced only once
Nearly all bear live young (egg-laying
mammals are the exception)
Four-chambered heart (two ventricles, two
auricles)
Red blood cells lack nuclei (greater
capacity to carry oxygen
Larger, more complex and differentiated
brain

Mammal Reproduction

Milk is a rich and concentrated food

sourceallows for rapid growth and
maintaining body temperature
Many mammals live in pairs during the
mating season; few mammals form
permanent pairs

Sumatran
tigers

Fertilization is internal
Embryo derives nourishment directly
from mother (except in monotremes) via
the placenta
Mother provides extended care to young

Gestation
Short in marsupials, longer in placental
mammals
Length of gestation ranges usually
shorter for smaller mammals and
longer for larger mammals
Length also depends on degree of
development of newborns
Delayed implantation results in very
long gestation (marsupials, bats,
shrews, rodents, armadillos, bears,
weasels)
Koala

Mammal Social Behavior

Different types of social groups have

evolved depending on food availability,
terrain and predators
Solitary societies +
Polygynous group (harem) +
Permanent groups with complex
structure (marsupials, ungulates,
elephants, primates and some
carnivores)
dominant pair
matrilineal
Zebra and wildebeest

Mammal Locomotion

Walking/running
Jumping
Digging/burrowing
Climbing
Gliding
Flying
Swimming

Snow leopard

Hippos
Siamangs

Mammal Senses

More than half of all mammals are

nocturnal:
all of the approx. 1,116 species of
bats
80% of marsupials
60% of carnivores
40% of rodents
20% of primates
Grey-headed fruit bats

Primary Mammal Senses

Olfactory/Smell chemical
stimulation of odors in the air
detected by smell membranes
in the nose
Hearing - middle ear structure
amplifies mechanical energy
from air, which then passes
through the fluid of the cochlea
and is transferred as nerve
impulses to the brain
Sight more important for
diurnal mammals (full color
vision only in primates);
stereoscopic vision (both eyes
facing forward) in carnivores
and in primates

More on a few
groups of
mammals

Monotreme Characteristics
Egg-laying mammals
Waste/reproductive
openings are a single
duct (cloaca)
Lack teeth as adults
Found only
in Australia
and
New Guinea
Duck-billed platypus

Long-beaked
echidna

Monotremes

Five species:
Duck-billed platypus
Long-beaked
echidna (3 species)
Short-beaked
echidna

Duck-billed platypus

Long-beaked echidna

Marsupial Characteristics
Fenestrated palatelarge gaps in roof of mouth
Brainsmaller and more simple than placental
mammals
Teeth
Number of incisors in upper
jaw different from number
in the lower jaw; in
placental mammals, the
number is equal
Number of molars and premolars different in
marsupials than in
placentals

Tasmanian devil

Marsupials
Found in North and South
America, but primarily in
Australasia (Australia, New
Guinea, nearby islands)
Opossums (North and South
America)
Marsupial moles, carnivorous
marsupials (Tasmanian devil,
numbats, etc.)
Bandicoots and bilbies
Koala, possums, gliders,
wombats, kangaroos, wallabies

Opossum
Wallaroo

Rodent Characteristics
Found all over the world except
Antarctica, New Zealand and
some oceanic islands
Wide diversity of diets and
habitats
Teeth are specialized for
gnawing
upper and lower incisors separated
from molars by a gap (no canines)
incisors grow continuously
enamel on front surface of incisors
but not on back = wears to a chisel

Douglas squirrel

Major Groups of
Rodents

Porcupine

Springhaas
Beaver, kangaroo
rats, gophers and
relatives
Porcupines, guinea
pigs, capybaras and
relatives
Mice, rats, gerbils
and relatives
Squirrels and
relatives
Beaver

Bat Characteristics
Found throughout the world, except in
polar regions
Only mammal with true wings and
flight
Two major ecological groups:
Megachiroptera: eat fruit/nectar/pollen, in
Old World tropics, use vision (and thus
larger eyes)
Microchiroptera: eat insects (or other
carnivorous diet), broadly distributed
around the world, use echolocation (and
thus larger ears)

Ungulate
Characteristics
(hoofed mammals)

Large, barrel-shaped bodies

Sideways-facing eyes
Adaptations of teeth:
reduced canines
molars designed for crushing
plant material
Thick skin usually covered in
hair, not fur
Adaptations of feet:
hooves made of keratin
unguligrade: walk on tiptoes
number of toes reduced to
one or three (odd-toed
ungulates) or two or four
(even-toed ungulates)

Japanese serow
in Woodland Park Zoo

Goat
Malayan
in Woodland
tapir
Park
in Woodland
Zoo
Park Zoo

Major Groups of Ungulates

Order Even-toed Ungulates
Pigs, peccaries, hippos
Camels and llamas
Ruminants (deer, giraffe, antelope,
gazelles, goats, cattle, sheep, buffalo)

Order Whales, Dolphins, Porpoises

New evidence that whales/ dolphins/
porpoises closely related to Even-toed
Ungulates (most closely to hippos)

Order Odd-toed Ungulates

Horses, tapirs, rhinos

Elephants - Physical characteristics

Largest terrestrial animal: average height 11
ft at shoulder and average weight 5 tons
(male African savanna elephant)
Second tallest terrestrial animal (after giraffe)
Trunk (fused
African savanna elephant and Asian elephant
in Woodland Park Zoo
nose and
upper lip)
Tusks (modified
upper incisors)
Mammary glands
located between
front legs
Large ears

Whats a Carnivore?
1. A member of the order Carnivora:
All stem from ancestors that
possessed four carnassial teeth:
sharp and bladelike upper premolars
and lower molars, used for cutting
meat and tendon
- Most modern Carnivora predators retained carnassials
- Carnassials in bears and raccoons became crushing teeth as
diets became more omnivorous
- Pinnipeds (arent always classified as members of the order
Carnivora) have reduced or absent carnassials

2. An animal that catches and consumes other animals

Non-Carnivora mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, etc
-

Orcas are mammals that eat a variety of aquatic prey

Raptors are birds that hunt and kill with their feet
Snakes are reptiles that use constriction or venom to kill their prey
Piranha ambush prey in rivers

General Carnivore Characteristics

Extremely diverse group
- Smallest carnivore: least weasel at 1 to 2.5 oz (30 to 70 g)
Largest land carnivore: polar bear at 800 to 1400 lb (360 to 635
kg)
Largest aquatic carnivore: elephant seal, averages 5000 lb (2270
kg)
- Vary from mostly carnivorous diet (jaguars) to mostly herbivorous
diet (giant panda). Most will scavenge if given the opportunity.
- Some are solitary; others live in packs
Acute senses: excellent vision, hearing and sense of smell

Carnivore Characteristics

continued

Built for running: small, suspended collarbone allows for

long strides, fused wrist bones provide shock absorption
(and support for climbing and grappling)
- Some can run long distances, others are rapid sprinters that
use their speed to overcome their prey

Territorial: use scentmarking to form territory boundaries

- All carnivores have special anal
glands that emit secretions, also
mark territory with urine

Specialized reproductive
anatomy: males in all families,
except hyenas, have a penis
bone to prolong copulation

Order: Carnivora

Family members (common names)

Cats
Civets, genets
African palm civet
Mongooses
Fossa, Malagasy carnivores
Hyenas
Aardwolf
Dogs, foxes, wolves, coyote
Bears
Giant panda
Raccoons, coatis, kinkajou
Red panda
Weasels, badgers, otters, fishers, wolverines
Skunks
Eared seals, sea lions
Earless seals
Walrus

Primate
Characteristics
The following apply to
most primates:

Opposable first digit

on hands and feet
Social animals
Arboreal part or all
of the time
Color vision
Omnivorous

DeBrazzas guenons

Primate Characteristics
(continued)

Forward facing eyes allows for stereoscopic

vision (ability to judge distance)
Five digits on each limbs; usually with nails
Longer gestation, reduced number of offspring
Increased complexity of brain

Drawings by Sue Cockrell

Prosimians

Apes

Primates

New World monkeys

Old World monkeys

Orders of Mammals in Washington

Marsupials
opossum (1)
Rabbits, hares
(8)
Rodents (51)
Bats (16)

Pygmy rabbit

Shrews, moles (12)

Carnivores (25)
Even-toed ungulates
(7)
Whales, dolphins,
porpoises (26)

California sea lions

*Includes introduced species (9)

Source: Burke Museum,
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/collections/mammalogy/m
amwash/mamwash.html

Mammal Conservation
One in every four mammals faces a high
risk of extinction in the near future
(IUCN Species Survival Commission,
2004)
Factors leading to species declines:
1. Habitat destruction
2. Introduced species
3. Pollution
4. Over-exploitation
5. Global climate change
All these factors are related to human
population growth and consumption of
resources

Mammal Conservation

Though not the largest group of

organisms, mammals represent a wide
diversity of adaptations and fill
important niches in ecosystems across
the planet
Mammals can be flagship species for
conservationpeople identify with and
care about cute, furry animals!
Endangered mammal photo galleries:
http://www.iucnredlist.org/info/gallery2
006
http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mam
mals/

Woodland Park Zoo2011

Photo Credits:
Photos by Woodland Park Zoo staff:
All photos by K. Remine, M. White or J. Mears
unless otherwise noted.
All photos property of Woodland Park Zoo. All rights
reserved.

Other photos/illustrations:
All echidna photos courtesy of the Tree Kangaroo
Conservation Program
Primate characteristics illustration by Sue Cockrell
All rights reserved.
Mexican free-tail bats