Mammals

Hillary WisneskiED205-05

Mammals• What is a mammal• Characteristics of mammals• Types of mammals• Interesting mammal facts• Some amazing mammals• Mammals habitat• Mammals diet• Reproduction• Survival• Concept map• Author page• Resources

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What is a mammal?

Definition: Any vertebrate of the class Mammalia, having the body more or less covered with hair, nourishing the young with milk from the mammary glands, and, with the exception of the egg-laying monotremes, giving birth to live young.

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Click to view a video about mammals

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkMYpFlpdnY&feature=related

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Characteristics of Mammals

1.Mammals can produce milk to feed its young. This milk is produced by modified sweat glands called 'mammary' glands. It is from these glands that the whole group takes its name, 'Mammals’

2. Mammals have some hair, even though it may be barely visible3. The lower jaw in mammals is a single bone on either side4. Only the mammal’s middle ear contains 3 bones. The Stapes or

(Stirrup), Incus or (Anvil) and the Malleus or (Hammer).5. In mammals the main artery leaving the heart curves to the left

becoming the aortic arch. In birds it curves to the right and in all other vertebrates there are more than one main artery leaving the heart.

6. mammals have a diaphragm. A sheet of muscle and tendon that separates the body cavity into two sections. No other animals have diaphrams Quit

Types of Mammals• Mammals themselves are

divided into three different groups, or subclasses, based on distinctive underlying features.

1. Monotremes:Make up by far the smallest subclass of mammals, with just three species. One of these is the duck-billed platypus, and the remaining two are the echidnas. A striking feature of these mammals is that they lay eggs which is a characteristic unique from all other mammals.

2. Marsupials:These mammals give birth to live young, but the young are born while still in a very undeveloped state. They complete their development inside a special pouch on the mother's abdomen. For example Kangaroos.

3. Placentals:Young placental mammals spend a relatively long time developing inside their mother’s body before birth. The unborn young are nourished by a spongy organ called the placenta, which absorbs nutrients from the mother's blood and transfers them to the developing animal. Most mammals are in this category.

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Interesting Mammal Facts

• There have been mammals living on this planet for 200 million years. 

• All mammals have four limbs

• There are about 4,000 different species of mammals alive today.

• The two most diverse groups of mammals are rodents and bats.

• All mammals breath air. Quit

Some Amazing Mammals

• A blue whale can be 100 feet long and weigh up to 150 tons. Its heart is as big as a small car. The blue whale is a mammal rather than a fish because it is warm-blooded, has lungs rather than gills, and nourishes its young with milk, it also has hair.

• Bats are the only mammals that are able to fly. Most bats have very poor eyesight, but can find their way around much better than humans can. They are able to do this because of echolocation. The smallest bat in the world is the Kitti's hog-nosed bat, which is only 3cm long.

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Mammal Habitat

• Mammals can be found on all continents on land in all oceans around the world.

• Mammals inhabit every terrestrial biome, from deserts to tropical rainforests to polar icecaps.

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Mammal Diet

• Mammals can be carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores. Mammals eat both invertebrates and vertebrates. Mammals use food to keep themselves warm as well as to power their bodies and grow.

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Reproduction• Mammals usually produce few young each time they breed. In all

mammals, except monotremes, the young start their development inside their mothers, where they are safe from most of their enemies

• Some mammals breed throughout the year, but most have distinct breeding seasons that allow birth to coincide with times when food is plentiful.

• Many placental mammals lick the embryonic membranes off the newborn young, and often nudge them toward the mother’s mammary glands for their first meal of milk

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Survival

• Mammals have to overcome a wide range of hazards in order to survive

• Extreme cold or heat• Some deal with it by

hibernation and migration

• For most the key to surviving lies in keen senses and rapid responses

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Quiz Time!!

Click here to take the Mammal Quiz

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http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/bookworm/mammal.html

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Concept Map

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Author PageMy name is Hillary Wisneski. I am 21 years old and am a student at Grand Valley. My major is

English with a emphasis in Elementary Education. I hope to one day teach 4th grade.

You can contact me at hillarywisneski@gmail.com

Resources

• http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mammal

• http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/bookworm/mammal.html

• http://www.iwrc-online.org/kids/Facts/Mammals/bats.htm

• http://www.iwrc-online.org/kids/Facts/Mammals/mammal_families.htm

• http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761561349_2/Mammal.html

• http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Mammalia.html

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