Everything about Mammals!

Mammals are among the most successful animals ever to have lived. Because they are warm-blooded, they can survive in almost any environment. To take advantage of different environments,, mammals have evolved different body shapes. They have adapted to life in the jungles, deserts and high mountains; in the polar regions; in the air and in the trees; beneath the ground and in the oceans. They have also adapted as they moved from one environment to another. The ancestors of today's horses, for example, lived in forests and were small enough to move among trees and undergrowth. When they began to live on the open plains. however, they grew larger and stronger so they could migrate in search of fresh food, and faster so they could escape the fast-moving predators of the plains. Looking alike  Some mammals look similar and live in similar ways even though they are not related to each other and live in different parts of the world. Scientists call this "Convergent evolution...

Most of the animals we keep as pets, such as dogs, cats, and rabbits, and the animals we use for work, such as horses, are mammals. Humans are mammals too. Mammals belong to a group of animals called vertebrates , all of which have backbones. They are warm-blooded, which means they have a constant body temperature, no matter how cold or hot their surroundings may be. There are nearly 4,000 species of mammal, and most of these have hair or fur on their bodies. Except for the platypus and echidna, all mammals give birth to live young. Unlike other animals, they feed their young with milk. Mammals Evolved from reptiles that had several bones in the lower jaw.  Types of Mammals The three main groups of mammal are; monotremes marsupials placental mammals Monotremes (the platypus and echidna) have many features in common with mammals' reptile ancestors. They have a single opening, called a cloaca , for reproduction and body wastes, and they lay eggs.  Female ...