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Mammals
KNOWN SPECIES
6,615
0.28% of our world's living things are mammals
CHARACTERISTICS
- animals with a backbone (vertebrates)
- they produce milk for their young
- they have bodies covered with hair
SIZE RANGE
Less than 2.4 inches to more than 108 feet (6 centimeters to more than 33 meters)
WHERE THEY LIVE
- mainly on land
- some live in oceans and fresh water
Here are just SOME of the world’s mammals:
orca
SCIENTIFIC NAME:
Orcinus orca
caracal
SCIENTIFIC NAME:
Caracal caracal
reticulated giraffe
SCIENTIFIC NAME:
Giraffa reticulata
human
SCIENTIFIC NAME:
Homo sapiens
dog
SCIENTIFIC NAME:
Canis familiaris
giant panda
SCIENTIFIC NAME:
Ailuropoda melanoleuca
warthog
SCIENTIFIC NAME:
Phacochoerus africanus
green acouchi
SCIENTIFIC NAME:
Myoprocta acouchy
aye-aye
SCIENTIFIC NAME:
Daubentonia madagascariensis
Guess what?
Genetic studies have suggested that hippopotamuses are closely related to whales and dolphins.
Image Credits:
Aye-aye, M. Shanley/© AMNH; caracal, © Derek Keats/CC BY 2.0; dog, © Karen Taber; green acouchi, giant panda, reticulated giraffe, warthog, John White/© California Academy of Sciences; human, © Shutterstock; orca, © Sabine Templeton/CC BY-NC.