Mammal

Mammalia Temporal range: 225–0 mya (Kemp)[1] or 167–0 mya (Rowe)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Amniota
Clade:	Synapsida
Clade:	Mammaliaformes
Class:	Mammalia Linnaeus, 1758
Living subgroups
Subclass Prototheria Infraclass Australosphenida Order Monotremata Subclass Theria Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria

Mammals are in the class Mammalia. They are a group of vertebrate animals.^[3] They have fur or hair and very precise temperature regulation.

With the exception of the monotremes, all mammals bear live young. Unlike other vertebrates, they are the only animals that produce milk for their young through their mammary glands. Parental care of the young is universal among mammals, sometimes for long periods.

Mammals became the dominant land animals after non-bird dinosaurs were eliminated. Recent work helped to explain their success: epigenetics seems to have started in early mammals.^[4]

1. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Kemp was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
2. ↑ Rowe T. 1988. Definition, diagnosis, and origin of Mammalia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 8 (3): 241–264.
3. ↑ Szalay F.S. 1999. Classification of mammals above the species level: Review. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 19 (1): 191–195. doi:10.1080/02724634.1999.10011133. JSTOR 4523980.
4. ↑ Butler 2009. Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics. p477–486.