Portal:Mammals

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The Mammals portal

A

extant species of mammals have been described and divided into 29 orders
.

The largest orders of mammals, by number of species, are the

even-toed ungulates (including pigs, camels, and whales), and the Carnivora (including cats, dogs, and seals
).

Mammals are the only living members of

Middle Permian. Mammals originated from cynodonts, an advanced group of therapsids, during the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic. Mammals achieved their modern diversity in the Paleogene and Neogene periods of the Cenozoic era, after the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs, and have been the dominant
terrestrial animal group from 66 million years ago to the present.

The basic mammalian body type is

placentals, have a placenta, which enables the feeding of the fetus during gestation
.

Most mammals are

polyandrous
.

Domestication of many types of mammals by humans played a major role in the Neolithic Revolution, and resulted in farming replacing hunting and gathering as the primary source of food for humans. This led to a major restructuring of human societies from nomadic to sedentary, with more co-operation among larger and larger groups, and ultimately the development of the first civilizations. Domesticated mammals provided, and continue to provide, power for transport and agriculture, as well as food (meat and dairy products), fur, and leather. Mammals are also hunted and raced for sport, kept as pets and working animals of various types, and are used as model organisms in science. Mammals have been depicted in art since Paleolithic times, and appear in literature, film, mythology, and religion. Decline in numbers and extinction of many mammals is primarily driven by human poaching and habitat destruction, primarily deforestation. (Full article...)

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Scientific classification

Kingdom

Animalia
  Phylum
Chordata
  Subphylum
Vertebrata
  Superclass
Tetrapoda
  (unranked)
Amniota
  Class
Mammalia



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