This means that they have similar shared biological and behavioral characteristics. All mammals thermoregulate their bodies to a specific range of temperatures. Using a complex system of heat retention and heat loss, and body coatings such as hair, skin and glands, mammals can live in a wide variety of climates. Mammals are also characterized by efficient breathing systems, a separate chest and abdominal cavity, a four-chambered heart, and a complex nervous system. Complex nutrition, locomotion and posture, reproductive strategies and behavioral flexibility are all mammalian traits.
Mammals require a lot of food which is completely processed during digestion.
A hard palate, a bony structure located in the throat, allows the animal to breath and chew at the same time. The skeletal anatomy of mammals is light which facilitates quick movement. Extensive bone growth occurs during infancy and childhood in the long parts of bones. Reproductive systems are designed for longer periods of gestation during which the mother's body provides nourishment for the fetus. Infants are born with complex neurological, skeletal, muscular and circulatory systems which enable them to move, grow, and learn at a young age.