Characteristics of mammals: definition and examples

Author: Laura McKinney
Date Of Creation: 9 August 2021
Update Date: 13 November 2024
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Mammals for Kids | Learn all about the unique characteristics of mammals and what mammals are!
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Mammals are the most studied group of animals, which is why they are the best known vertebrates. This is because it is the group that humans are included in, so after centuries of trying to get to know each other, our species researched other mammals.

In this PeritoAnimal article, we will explain about the definition of mammals, which is much more extensive than what we generally know. In addition, we will explain the mammal characteristics and some known examples and some not so common.

What are mammals?

Mammals are a large group of vertebrate animals with constant body temperature, classified in the Mammalia class. Generally, mammals are defined as animals with fur and mammary glands, which give birth to their young. However, mammals are much more complex organisms, with more defining characteristics than those mentioned above.


All mammals descend from a single common ancestor which appeared at the end of the Triassic, about 200 million years ago. Specifically, mammals descend from synapsid primitives, amniotic tetrapods, that is, four-legged animals whose embryos developed protected by four envelopes. After the extinction of the dinosaurs, about 65 million years ago, mammals diversified from this common ancestor into various species, adapting to all means, land, water and air.

11 characteristics of mammals

As we mentioned before, these animals are not defined by just one or two characters, in fact, they have unique morphological characteristics, as well as a great ethological complexity that makes each individual unique.


At characteristics of vertebrate mammals are:

  1. jaw formed only by dental bones.
  2. The articulation of the mandible with the skull is made directly between the dental and squamosal bones.
  3. Feature three bones in the middle ear (hammer, stirrup and incus), with the exception of monotremes, which have a simpler reptilian ear.
  4. The fundamental epidermal structure of these animals is their hair. All mammal species develop hair, to a greater or lesser extent. Some species, such as cetaceans, only have hair at birth, and they lose these hairs as they grow. In some cases, the fur is modified, forming, for example, the fins of whales or the scales of the pangolin.
  5. Soaked in the skin of mammals, a huge amount of sweat and sebaceous glands can be found. Some of them are transformed into odorous or poisonous glands.
  6. present mammary glands, which derive from the sebaceous glands and secrete milk, which is the necessary food for young mammals.
  7. According to the species, they may have nails, claws or hooves, all made up of a substance called keratin.
  8. Some mammals have horns or horns. The horns have a bony base covered by skin, and the horns also have a chitinous protection, and there are others without a bony base, formed by an accumulation of layers of skin, as is the case with the horns of rhinos.
  9. O mammalian digestive apparatus it is highly developed and is more complex than in other species. The feature that most differentiates them is the presence of a blind bag,the appendix.
  10. Mammals have a cerebral neocortex or, to put it another way, an extremely developed brain, which leads them to develop a large number of complex cognitive abilities.
  11. all mammals breatheair, even if they are aquatic mammals. Therefore, the respiratory system of mammals has two lungs which, depending on the species, may or may not be lobed. They also have trachea, bronchi, bronchioles and alveoli, prepared for gas exchange. They also have a vocal organ with vocal cords located in the larynx. This allows them to produce various sounds.

Types of mammalian animals

The classical definition of mammal would exclude some of the first species of mammals that appeared on the planet. The Mammalia class is divided into three orders, monotremes, marsupials and placentals.


  1. Monotremes: the order of monotremes mammals is formed by only five species of animals, platypus and echidnas. These mammals are characterized by being oviparous animals, that is, they lay eggs. Furthermore, they retain a characteristic of their reptilian ancestors, the cloaca, where both the digestive, urinary and reproductive apparatus converge.
  2. Marsupials: Marsupial mammals are characterized by, despite being viviparous animals, they have a very short placental development, completing it already outside the maternal uterus but inside a skin bag called a marsupium, inside which the mammary glands are located.
  3. Placentals: Finally, there are placental mammals. These animals, also viviparous, complete their fetal development inside the mother's womb, and when they leave it, they are totally dependent on their mother, who will provide them with the protection and nourishment they will need during the first months or years of life, breast milk.

Examples of mammals

In order for you to get to know these animals better, we present below a wide list of examples of mammalian animals, although it is not as extensive as the more than 5,200 species of mammals that currently exist on planet Earth.

Examples of terrestrial mammals

We'll start with the land mammals, some of them are:

  • Zebra (zebra equus);
  • domestic cat (Felis sylvestris catus);
  • domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris);
  • African elephant (African Loxodonta);
  • Wolf (kennels lupus);
  • Common deer (cervus elaphus);
  • Eurasian Lynx (lynx lynx);
  • European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus);
  • Horse (equus ferus caballus)​​;
  • Common Chimpanzee (pan troglodytes);
  • Bonobo (pan paniscus);
  • Borneo Orangutan (Pong Pygmaeus);
  • Brown bear (Ursus arctos);
  • Panda bear or giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca);
  • Red fox (Vulpes Vulpes);
  • Sumatran Tiger (panthera tigris sumatrae);
  • Bengal tiger (panthera tigris tigris);
  • Reindeer (rangifer tarandus);
  • Howler monkey ​(Alouatta palliata);
  • llama (glam mud);
  • Smelly weasel (mephitis mephitis);
  • Badger (honey honey).

Examples of marine mammals

There are also aquatic mammals, some of them are:

  • Gray Whale (Eschrichtius robustus);
  • Pygmy Right Whale (Caperea marginata);
  • Ganges dolphin (gangetic platanist);
  • Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus);
  • Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus);
  • Bolivian dolphin (Inia boliviensis);
  • Porpoise (vexillifer lipos);
  • Araguaia dolphin (Inia araguaiaensis);
  • Greenland Whale (Balaena mysticetus);
  • Twilight Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus);
  • Porpoise (phocoena phocoena);
  • Pink dolphin (Inia geoffrensis);
  • Going River Dolphin (minor platanist);
  • Pacific Right Whale (Eubalaena japonica);
  • Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae);
  • Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus);
  • Vaquita (Phocoena sinus);
  • Common Seal (Vitulina Phoca);
  • Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea);
  • South American fur seal (Arctophoca australis australis);
  • Sea Bear (Callorhinus bears);
  • Mediterranean Monk Seal (monachus monachus);
  • Crab seal (Wolfdon carcinophagus);
  • Leopard Seal (Hydrurga leptonyx);
  • Bearded Seal (Erignathus barbatus);
  • Harp Seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus).

Image: Pink dolphin/Reproduction: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lubasi/7450423740

Examples of monotremes mammals

following with the mammal examples, here are some species of monotremes mammals:

  • Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus);
  • Short-snouted Echidna (tachyglossus aculeatus);
  • Attenborough's Echidne (Zaglossus attenboroughi);
  • Barton's Echidne (Zaglossus bartoni);
  • Long-billed Echidna (Zaglossus bruijni).

Examples of marsupial mammals

There are also marsupial mammals, among them, the most popular are:

  • Common Vombat (Ursinus Vombatus);
  • Sugar nut (petaurus breviceps);
  • Eastern Gray Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus);
  • Western Gray Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus);
  • Koala (Phascolarctos Cinereus);
  • Red kangaroo (Macropus rufus);
  • Devil or Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii).

Examples of flying mammals

To end this article about mammal characteristics, let's mention some species of flying mammals you need to know about:

  • Wooly bat (Myotis emarginatus);
  • Large arboreal bat (Nyctalus noctula);
  • Southern Bat (Eptesicus isabellinus);
  • Desert Red Bat (Lasiurus blossevillii);
  • Philippine Flying Bat (Acerodon jubatus);
  • hammer bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus);
  • Common bat or dwarf bat (pipistrellus pipistrellus);
  • Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus);
  • Hairy-legged Vampire Bat (Diphylla ecaudata);
  • White-winged Vampire Bat (diaemus youngi).

If you want to read more articles similar to Characteristics of mammals: definition and examples, we recommend that you enter our Curiosities section of the animal world.