Children love animals and are exposed to various animals in their surroundings all the time. Whether out in the nature or in national parks and sanctuaries, or even in prints and designs on their clothes, bedsheets and wallpapers, animals are an integral part of a child’s world ever since they are born.
Your child must have observed that there are many different types of animals around them and may have been curious about these types. Let us introduce them to one important member of the animal kingdom- the mammals!
What Are Mammals?
The animal kingdom is classified into a few categories based on biological differences in various species of animals. Mammals are one category from this classification. A mammal is a type of animal which gives birth to live young babies, produces milk to feed the babies, and commonly live on land, with some exceptions such as such as dolphins and whales. Do these characteristics sound familiar? That is because we, human beings, too are mammals.
Right from the Etruscan shrew, the smallest mammal, to blue whales, the largest mammals, there are many different sizes and types of mammals that can be found around the world.
Characteristics Of Mammals
To be classified as mammals, animals need to have the following characteristics:
1. Warm-blooded Vertebrates
Mammals are endothermic, meaning they have a constant body temperature. Mammals are also vertebrates, meaning they have a backbone
2. Red Blood Cells Without Nucleus
Mammals have adult (mature) red blood cells, known as erythrocytes, that lack a nucleus. This is unique compared to other vertebrates.
3. Hair or Fur
Mammals commonly have hair, or fur. Though hair and fur are chemically similar and both made of keratin, they are characteristically different. Hair is normally longer and thinner than fur, while fur is usually shorter and coarser. Both serve as insulators for animals.
4. Malleus, Incus, and stapes
The Malleus is a small bone in the middle ear that is shaped like a hammer. It connects the inner surface of the eardrum with the incus. Given it’s shape, the name is derived from the Latin word for ‘mallet’. The incus is shaped like an anvil and serves a similar function, vibrating to transmit sound. The stapes is a stirrup shaped bone. Together they form the ‘hammer, anvil, and stirrup’, three of the smallest bones in the human body. The stapes is the actual smallest.
5. Produce Milk
Mammals contain mammary glands. These glands give them the ability to produce milk to feed their offspring.
6. A Diaphragm
Mammals have a diaphragm sitting between their heart and lungs
7. Hinged Lower Jaw Connected To Skull
Mammals have a hinged lower jaw that connects directly to the skull. By comparison, all over vertebrates connect through another bone known as the quadrate. This mammal articulation allows them to more easily grasp and chew food, as well as chew sideways.
8. Left Aortic Arch
In mammals, the fourth (left) pharyngeal artery is most commonly the arch of the aorta. This differs compared to other animal types. There can be rare cases where mammals have a right aortic arch variant.
9. Neocortex
Mammals commonly have a neocortex in their brain. This specialized region allows them to both hear and see.
10. Live Birth
Mammals are viviparous, meaning they give birth to live babies. There are three different types of mammal birth. Monotremes, marsupial, and placental mammals, discussed further below.
List of Mammals For Kids
Let us study a few of these to improve your child’s knowledge with the below pictures of mammals with names. These are just a few examples of mammals with names while scientists have recognised more than 5,400 species of mammals in the whole world.
1. Squirrel
They are small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, and flying squirrels. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa, and were introduced by humans to Australia.
2. Dog
The dog is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog’s nearest living relative. Dogs were the first species to be domesticated by hunter-gatherers over 15,000 years ago before the development of agriculture.
3. Pig
The pig, often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus Sus, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal.
4. Lion
The lion is a large cat of the genus Panthera native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body, short, rounded head, round ears, and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail.
5. Mouse
A mouse is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse. Mice are also popular as pets.
6. Monkey
Monkeys are a large and diverse mammal group that includes most primates. Humans, chimpanzees and other apes share an ancestor with monkeys but belong to a separate group of primates that diverged from monkeys millions of years ago. Monkeys are typically smaller than apes and usually have tails, which apes lack.
7. Elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant.
8. Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail.
9. Panda
The giant panda, also known as the panda bear, is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name “giant panda” is sometimes used to distinguish it from the red panda, a neighboring musteloid.
10. Kangaroo
Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae. In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey kangaroo, and western grey kangaroo. Kangaroos are indigenous to Australia and New Guinea.
11. Cow
They are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus Bos. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult males are referred to as bulls. The baby is called a calf.
12. Leopard
The leopard is one of the five extant species in the genus Panthera, a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, and on the Indian subcontinent to Southeast and East Asia.
13. Hedgehog
A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction.
14. Walrus
They are large flippered aquatic mammals with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the family Odobenidae and genus Odobenus.
15. Goat
The goat or domestic goat is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the animal family Bovidae and the tribe Caprini, meaning it is closely related to the sheep.
16. Bat
Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera. With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out digits covered with a thin membrane or patagium.
We hope your child enjoyed learning these mammals’ names and characteristics in this article. To increase their knowledge on the subject, you can get them a list of mammals a-z that has all the common as well as uncommon mammals’ names.
Also Read:
Teach Your Child About Aquatic Animals
How to Teach Your Kids About Sea Animals
Wild Animals Names for Preschoolers and Children