Mammals
Introduction:
Mammals are a well known group of animals despite having relatively few species. These incredibly charismatic animals form a small but extremely diverse group, occupying the ocean, land and sky. Within the group there is a huge range of sizes from the blue whale (the largest living animal on the planet) to tiny shrews weighing only 2g and ranging between 1.5-3 inches.
Key features of mammals:
Warm- blooded (endothermic)
Mammary glands producing milk
Fur covering body
Additional known shared-characteristics include: birthing live young (with the exception of the egg laying monotremes), four limbs (aside from aquatic mammals), diaphragm to aid breathing and three bones in the middle ear.
The mammals can be found in central cabinets 1-3 within the museum. With primates in the first cabinet. In the second are ungulates ('hoofed animals' like pigs, camel and tapirs for example), seals and some carnivorous mammals. Monotremes, marsupials and other placental mammals groups (such as the rodents and bats ) in the third cabinet.
Classification:
Mammals are divided into 3 main categories based off their reproductive strategy:
Prototheria
Egg laying mammals. Also known as monotremes
E.g. Platypus, Echidna, Kollikodon
Metatheria
Marsupial mammals
E.g. Golden Mole, Opossum. Wombat, Thylacine
Eutheria
Placental mammals
E.g. Armadillo, Horse, Rat, Elephant, Seal
Mammalian Orders
Below is a detailed list of the mammalian orders with the groups encompassed within the order listed next to the order.
If you want to discover more, all groups or specific animals are hyperlinked to their respective page on Encyclopaedia Britannica
Animals present in our museum displays are highlighted by red text.
Primates can be found in the first central cabinet, ungulates and carnivores in the second and a mix other mammals in the third.
Within Prototheria:
Tachyglossa - echidnas
Platypoda - platypus
Within Metatheria:
Diprotodontia - kangaroos, koalas, wombats, possums, and kin
Dasyuromorphia - carnivorous marsupials e.g. quolls, Tasmanian devil
Peramelemorphia - bandicoots and bilbies
Notoryctemorphia - marsupial moles
Microbiotheria - monito del monte
Didelphimorphia - opossums
Paucituberculata - shrew, or rat opossums
Within Eutheria:
Rodentia - rodents
Chiroptera - bats
Afrosoricida - golden moles and tenrecs
Erinaceomorpha - hedgehogs
Primates - humans, apes, monkeys, lemurs, and kin
Artiodactyla - even-toed hoofed ungulates: giraffes, camels, collared peccary deer, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and kin.
Cetacea - whales, dolphins, and porpoises
Perissodactyla - odd-toed hoofed ungulates : horses, rhinoceroses, tapirs, and kin.
Hyracoidea - hyraxes
Sirenia -manatees and dugongs
Proboscidea - elephants
Tubulidentata - aardvark
Carnivora - carnivores: badgers, polecats, weasels, lions, tigers, leopards, dogs, cats, racoons, pandas, otters, martens, bears, civets, seals, walrus, foxes, stoats
Lagomorpha - pikas and rabbits
Cingulata - armadillos
Scandentia - tree shrews
Macroscelidea - elephant shrews
Pholidota - pangolins
Explore the different taxonomic groups of mammals using this interactive phylogenetic tree from OneZoom.
Learn more about OneZoom here
Highlights:
Skulls of both Asian and African Elephants which allow for morphological comparisons between the two species
Articulated skeletons of a range of primates illustrating the stages of human evolution - including a human skeleton
Taxidermy of a number of mammals including the unique platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus
Hunting trophies from North America including African Buffalo
Embryos of a pig, Sus scrofa ; goat, Ovis aeries ; and whale, Balaenoptera sp
