Classification of Class Mammalia -
The class Mammalia can be classified as:
Group Monotreme :
- These are egg-laying mammals.
- This group comprises of the platypus and two species of echidnas, or spiny anteaters. The shells of their eggs resemble that of reptiles. Monotremes have no teeth.
Group Marsupials :
- These are pouched mammals.
- Australian marsupials include the kangaroo, koala, bandicoot, Tasmanian devil.
- Most species of marsupials possess a pouch in which the very premature young reside after birth, receiving milk and continuing to develop.
Group Eutherians :
- These are placental mammals.
- All species possess a complex placenta that connects the fetus to the mother, allowing for gas, fluid, and nutrient exchange.
- This group can be further classified as:
- Insectivorous mammals
- Rodents
- Aquatic mammals
- Carnivores and Ungulates
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Whales, dolphins and seals are aquatic mammals.
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