Mammal | Wikipedia audio article
Channel: wikipedia tts
Date: 2019-03-06

This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammal


00:04:17 1 Classification
00:06:40 1.1 Definitions
00:08:39 1.2 McKenna/Bell classification
00:11:32 1.3 Molecular classification of placentals
00:15:16 2 Evolution
00:15:25 2.1 Origins
00:15:59 2.2 Evolution from amniotes
00:18:56 2.3 First mammals
00:22:33 2.4 Earliest appearances of features
00:25:25 2.5 Rise of the mammals
00:27:19 3 Anatomy
00:27:28 3.1 Distinguishing features
00:29:23 3.2 Biological systems
00:36:50 3.3 Sound production
00:40:00 3.4 Fur
00:40:08 3.4.1 Function
00:40:27 3.4.2 Types
00:41:10 3.4.3 Thermoregulation
00:42:26 3.4.4 Coloration
00:44:24 3.5 Reproductive system
00:48:48 3.6 Endothermy
00:49:40 3.7 Species lifespan
00:51:10 3.8 Locomotion
00:51:19 3.8.1 Terrestrial
00:53:43 3.8.2 Arboreal
00:56:04 3.8.3 Aerial
00:57:47 3.8.4 Fossorial and subterranean
00:59:47 3.8.5 Aquatic
01:01:54 4 Behavior
01:02:03 4.1 Communication and vocalization
01:04:18 4.2 Feeding
01:09:48 4.3 Intelligence
01:12:49 4.4 Social structure
01:18:09 5 Humans and other mammals
01:18:19 5.1 In human culture
01:19:30 5.2 Uses and importance
01:22:00 5.3 Hybrids
01:24:53 5.4 Threats
01:28:06 6 Notes



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SUMMARY
=======
Mammals (from Latin mamma "breast") are vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), and characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or hair, and three middle ear bones. These characteristics distinguish them from reptiles and birds, from which they diverged in the late Triassic, 201–227 million years ago. There are around 5,450 species of mammals. The largest orders are the rodents, bats and Soricomorpha (shrews and others). The next three are the Primates (humans, apes, monkeys, and others), the Cetartiodactyla (whales and even-toed ungulates), and the Carnivora (cats, dogs, seals, and others).
In cladistics, which reflect evolution, mammals are classified as endothermic amniotes. They are the only living Synapsida, which together with the Sauropsida (reptiles and birds) form the Amniota clade. The early synapsid mammalian ancestors were sphenacodont pelycosaurs, a group that produced the non-mammalian Dimetrodon. At the end of the Carboniferous period around 300 million years ago, this group diverged from the sauropsid line that led to today's reptiles and birds. The line following the stem group Sphenacodontia split off several diverse groups of non-mammalian synapsids—sometimes referred to as mammal-like reptiles—before giving rise to the proto-mammals (Therapsida) in the early Mesozoic era. The modern mammalian orders arose in the Paleogene and Neogene periods of the Cenozoic era, after the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs, and have been among the dominant terrestrial animal groups from 66 million years ago to the present.
The basic body type is quadruped, and most mammals use their four extremities for terrestrial locomotion; but in some, the extremities are adapted for life at sea, in the air, in trees, underground, or on two legs. Mammals range in size from the 30–40 mm (1.2–1.6 in) bumblebee bat to the 30-meter (98 ft) blue whale—the largest animal on the planet. Maximum lifespan varies from two years for the shrew to 211 years for the bowhead whale. All modern mammals give birth to live young, except the five species of monotremes, which are egg-laying mammals. The most species-rich group of mammals, the cohort called placentals, have a placenta, which enables the feeding of the fetus during gestation.
Most mammals are intelligent, with some possessing large brains, self-awareness, and tool use. Mammals can communicate and vocalize in several different ways, including the production of ultrasound, scent-marking, alarm signals, singing, and echolo ...