Evolution and classification
The evolution of the mammalian condition

Mammals were derived in the Triassic Period (about 251 million to 200 million years ago) from members of the reptilian order Therapsida. The therapsids, members of the subclass Synapsida (sometimes called the mammal-like reptiles), generally were unimpressive in relation to other reptiles of their time. Synapsids were present in the Carboniferous Period (about 359 million to 299 million years ago) and are one of the earliest-known reptilian groups. They were the dominant reptiles of the Permian Period (299 million to 251 million years ago), and, although they were primarily predaceous in habit, the adaptive radiation included herbivorous species as well. In the Mesozoic Era (251 million to 65.5 million years ago), the most important of the synapsids were the archosaurs, or “ruling reptiles,” and the therapsids were, in general, small active carnivores. Therapsids tended to evolve a specialized heterodont dentition and to improve the mechanics of locomotion by bringing the plane of action of the limbs close to the trunk. A secondary palate was developed, and the temporal musculature was expanded.

The several features that separate modern reptiles from modern mammals doubtless evolved at different rates. Many attributes of mammals are correlated with their highly active habit—for example, efficient double circulation with a completely four-chambered heart, anucleate and biconcave erythrocytes, the diaphragm, and the secondary palate (which separates passages for food and air and allows breathing during mastication or suckling). Hair for insulation is a correlate of endothermy, the physiological maintenance of individual temperature independent of environmental temperature. Endothermy allows high levels of sustained activity. The unique characteristics of mammals thus would seem to have evolved as a complex interrelated system.

Because the characteristics that separate reptiles and mammals evolved at different rates and in response to a variety of interrelated conditions, at any point in the period of transition from reptiles to mammals, there were forms that combined various characteristics of both groups. Such a pattern of evolution is termed mosaic and is a common phenomenon in those transitions marking the origin of major new adaptive types. To simplify definitions and to allow the strict delimitation of the Mammalia, some authors have suggested basing the boundary on a single characteristic, the articulation of the jaw between the dentary and squamosal bones and the attendant movement of accessory jawbones to the middle ear as auditory ossicles. The use of a single osteological character allows the placement in a logical classification of numerous fossil species, other mammalian characteristics of which, such as the degree of endothermy and nursing of young and the condition of the internal organs, probably never will be evaluated. It must be recognized, however, that were the advanced therapsids alive today, taxonomists would be hard put to decide which to place in the Reptilia and which in the Mammalia.


The higher classification of the class Mammalia is based on consideration of a broad array of characters. Traditionally, evidence from comparative anatomy was of predominant importance, but more recently information from such disciplines as physiology, serology, and genetics has proved useful in considering relationships. Comparative study of living organisms is supplemented by the findings of paleontology. Study of the fossil record adds a historical dimension to knowledge of mammalian relationships. In some cases—the horses, for example—the fossil record has been adequate to allow lineages to be traced in great detail.

Relative to that of other major vertebrate groups, the fossil record of mammals is good. Fossilization depends upon a great many factors, the most important of which are the structure of the organism, its habitat, and conditions at the time of death. The most common remains of mammals are teeth and the associated bones of the jaw and skull. Enamel covering the typical mammalian tooth is composed of prismatic rods of crystalline apatite and is the hardest tissue in the mammalian body. It is highly resistant to chemical and physical weathering. Because of the abundance of teeth in deposits of fossil mammals, dental characteristics have been stressed in the interpretation of mammalian phylogeny and relationships. Dental features are particularly well suited for this important role in classification because they reflect the broad radiation of mammalian feeding specializations from the primitive predaceous habit.

This classification is modified from McKenna and Bell (1997), the most recent comprehensive classification of higher categories of mammals; extinct groups are not listed.

Class Mammalia (mammals)Almost 5,000 species in 29 orders.Subclass Prototheria (monotremes, egg-laying mammals)5 species classified here in 2 orders, but monotremes have traditionally been classified together in a single order, Monotremata. Order Tachyglossa (echidnas)4 species in 1 family.Order Platypoda (platypus)1 species.Subclass Theria (live-bearing mammals)Metatheria (marsupials)Nearly 300 species in 7 orders.Superorder AustralidelphiaNearly 200 species.Order Diprotodontia (kangaroos, koalas, wombats, possums, and kin) 115 or more species in 10 families. Order Dasyuromorphia (carnivorous marsupials)About 60 species in 2 families, not including the recently extinct Tasmanian wolf, sole member of family Thylacinidae.Order Peramelemorphia (bandicoots and bilbies)22 species in 2 families.Order Notoryctemorphia (marsupial moles)2 species in 1 family.Order Microbiotheria (monito)1 species.Superorder AmeridelphiaAbout 80 species in 2 orders.Order Didelphimorphia (opossums)70 or more species in 1 family.Order Paucituberculata (shrew, or rat, opossums)5 species in 1 family.Eutheria (placental mammals)About 4,700 species in 20 orders.Order Rodentia (rodents)More than 2,050 species in 27 families.Order Chiroptera (bats)Nearly 1,000 species in 18 families.Grandorder Lipotyphla (insectivores) About 450 species in 3 orders.Order Soricomorpha (shrews, moles, and kin)About 370 species in 3 families. Moles (family Talpidae) are sometimes classified with hedgehogs in Erinaceomorpha.Order Afrosoricida (golden moles and tenrecs)47 species in 2 families.Order Erinaceomorpha (hedgehogs)21 species in 1 family.Order Primates (humans, apes, monkeys, lemurs, and kin)300 or more species in 16 families. Colugos are sometimes classified as a separate order, Dermoptera.Grandorder Ungulata (ungulates)About 300 species in 5 orders.Order Artiodactyla (even-toed hoofed ungulates)202 About 200 species in 10 families, including giraffes, camels, deer, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and kin.Order Cetacea (whales, dolphins, and porpoises)80 species in 10 families.Order Perissodactyla (odd-toed hoofed ungulates)15 species in 3 families, including horses, rhinoceroses, tapirs, and kin.UranotheriansThe following three ungulate orders (Sirenia, Proboscidea, and Hyracoidea) are sometimes grouped together as order Uranotheria, as they are more closely related to one another than to other ungulates. Order Hyracoidea (hyraxes)6 species in 1 family.Order Sirenia (manatees and dugongs)4 species in 2 families.Order Proboscidea (elephants)2 species in 1 family.Order Tubulidentata (aardvark)1 species.Order Carnivora (carnivores)About 270 species in 12 families.Order Lagomorpha (pikas and rabbits)87 species in 2 families.Magnorder Xenarthra (edentates, or xenarthrans)29 species in 2 orders.Order Cingulata (armadillos) 20 species in 1 family.Order Pilosa (anteaters and sloths)9 species in 4 families.Order Scandentia (tree shrews)17 species in 1 family.Order Macroscelidea (elephant shrews)15 species in 1 family.Order Pholidota (pangolins)7 species in 1 family.