Mammals

There are many types of animals in the world, this time we will talk about mammals . The word mammal derives from the Latin language, “mamma” which has the meaning of teta or breast and the suffix “fero” which is a word that refers to carrying, so its meaning, literally speaking, would be “that carries breasts . ” This term has been used by scientists for many years to be able to identify animals that in the first moments of their life feed on milk , and that do so through mammary glands .

Definition

Mammals are a group of vertebrate animals that also have mammary glands which serve as a means of feeding for their young when they are newborn. Some of them are mammals , others are placentals , there are also marsupials and to a lesser extent, there are monotremes . These animals also take care of their young while they are small and do so until they can take care of themselves.

Mammal characteristics

The main characteristics that we can mention about mammals are the following:

• Their head is attached to the trunk through the neck and they have a backbone .
• They have a larger brain volume so they have excellent learning abilities.
• Its jaw has a single bone called the dentary articulated with the skull.
• They can lift the body off the ground thanks to the waists present on their limbs .
• Their bodies are covered in hair , although some may not.
• They have mammary , sweat , excretory, and odoriferous glands .
• It has four limbs , others have fins , and some of them have wings .
• The mouth is made up of lips and teeth . They have ears .
• They are able to maintain their body temperature .
• They have a type of lung respiration .
• Your heart is made up of four chambers and the circulatory system is closed, double, and complete.

Types

The three types of mammals that exist are:

• Carnivorous mammals : this is the most characteristic group and they feed on the meat of other animals. They are hunters and can live in water or on land. They are animals related to felines for the most part, but they are also related to canids .
• Herbivorous mammals : it is made up of animals that eat plants , and ruminants are the most important subgroup. Some of the animals that are part of ruminants and therefore are herbivores are cows, oxen, buffalo, sheep, goats and deer.
• Omnivorous mammals : include animals that can feed on plants and other animals . They have special adaptations for both types of food. Some examples of omnivorous animals can be the family of pigs such as wild boars, most primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas , some rodents .

Habitat

Mammals have the ability to inhabit any type of habitat along the earth’s surface. These habitats are places ranging from plains , forests and mountains to jungles tropical , desert and even regions polar .

Nutrition

Food is an essential characteristic that mammals have, and the type of diet is quite varied but depends on the species in question, so it is important to know that there are carnivorous, herbivorous, omnivorous mammals and even some of them are insectivores, so Each species has a different and specialized digestive system depending on the eating habits of each animal.

Reproduction

Mammals are viviparous animals , this means that the embryo develops inside the mother’s womb . The ovum, which is produced by the female, manages to be fertilized by the male’s copulatory organ . There are exceptions where the species are oviparous, and therefore are mammals that lay eggs , despite this, after the hatchling hatches, the offspring feed on milk through the mother’s mammary glands .

Breathing

The animals belonging to the group of mammals breathe oxygen through two lungs that are located in the cavity torá cycad . There are also very interesting cases, such as the case of aquatic mammals such as dolphins and whales , which have the ability to submerge for long periods of time but must always come to the surface to breathe, this because they can only take oxygen from the air and not water.

Mammalian circulatory system

In mammals, blood is the means of transport of substances through the body and it does so through impulses originated by the heart . Blood that leaves the heart to the body passes through the body through arteries , and blood that goes to the heart travels through the veins . The arteries and veins are connected by capillaries . This is how we say that the heart is the main organ of the circulatory system , as it carries oxygen , regulates body temperature , maintains an adequate hydrological and electrolyte balance..

Extremities

Depending on the mammal, so will its limbs. When we refer to mammals that live in water , their limbs end in fins , those that fly, as in the case of the bat, have membranous wings , and so on. As can be seen, the limbs of mammals have undergone many changes throughout their evolution and have managed to adapt to the environment in which they live. Terrestrial animals have their limbs in the form of legs , hooves , claws or nails , depending on the animal.

Importance

They play an important role in the food chains of ecosystems, as they are part of food chains . They are food at various levels of these chains, thus allowing the cycle of life to take place . Some of them have established important symbiotic relationships for life, and many of them also meet the needs of human beings. Whether as domestic animals , or as animals that are for consumption , mammalian animals will always play an important role in human life.

Examples

• Terrestrial mammals : cow, horse, dog, cat, chimpanzee, elephant, giraffe, lion, tiger, polar bear, man.
• Marine mammals : whale, dolphin, sea lion, walrus, orca.
• Flying mammals : bat.

Why are they called mammalian animals

They are called mammals because after being born they must be fed with breast milk and for this reason, females have breasts , the organs capable of performing this function.