mammal: References & Edit History
More Articles On This Topic
- circulatory systemMammals
- animal developmentPreparatory events
- animal developmentReptiles, birds, and mammals
- animal developmentAdaptations in mammals
- animal developmentExcretory organs
- animal developmentPostembryonic development
- human digestive systemThe teeth
- excretionVertebrate excretory systems
- germfree lifeMethodology.
- hair
- heartLocation and structure
- integument
- integumentEmbryology and evolution
- life spanMeasurement of life span
- morphologyAnatomy
- neural oscillationPreservation across species
- neuroplasticityTypes of cortical neuroplasticity
- regenerationMammals
- respiratory systemMammals
- skeletonAmphibians and higher vertebrates
- joint
- aggressive behaviourNeuroendocrine influences
- dormancyHomoiotherms and heterotherms
- feeding behaviourVertebrates
- animal social behaviorStrong inference and the scientific study of social behavior
- animal social behaviorSocial interactions involving sex
- animal social behaviorSocial interactions involving the costs and benefits of parental care
- animal social behaviorAggregation and individual protection
- imitation
- animal behaviourInstinctive learning
- reproductive behaviourParental care
- reproductive behaviourMammals
- migrationMammals
- nest
Additional Reading
General works
David Macdonald (ed.), The New Encyclopedia of Mammals, 3rd ed., 3 vol. (2006), lavishly illustrates mammalian diversity with photographs and colour drawings and also contains numerous sidebar discussions on specific behaviours and conservation issues. Bernhard Grzimek, Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia: Mammals I–V, 4 vol., trans. from German (2003), is a nontechnical source of information and graphics that also contains tabular data for all species. Other general works include David Macdonald, The Princeton Encyclopedia of Mammals (2009); and David Alderton, The Encyclopedia of Animals (2013).
Region-specific works
Don E. Wilson and Sue Ruff (eds.), The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals (1999), contains complete information and colour photographs of all species in North America. Louise H. Emmons and François Feer, Neotropical Rainforest Mammals: A Field Guide, 2nd ed. (1999), describes each of the species found in the tropical forests of Central and South America. Priscilla Barret and David W. Macdonald, Mammals of Europe (2001), is an illustrated field guide that includes distribution maps and describes ways of recognizing species by sight, sound, tracks, and other evidence. S. Aulagnier, Mammals of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East (2009) is a similarly illustrated guide to mammals of the region. Jonathan Kingdon, The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals, 2nd ed. (2015), provides information on Africa’s 1,100 mammalian species. G.B. Corbet and J.E. Hill, The Mammals of the Indomalayan Region: A Systematic Review (1992), treats each of the 1,000-plus species found in both continental and insular Southeast Asia. K.K. Gurung and Raj Singh, Field Guide to the Mammals of the Indian Subcontinent (also published as Mammals of the Indian Subcontinent and Where to Watch Them, 1996), provides information on the region’s protected reserves and concisely describes the species found in them. Vivek Menon, Mammals of India (2009), describes each of the several hundred mammalian species that are found on the subcontinent. Zhang Yongzu, Distribution of Mammalian Species in China (1997); and Andrew T. Smith and Yan Xie (eds.), Mammals of China (2013), are two of the few broad treatments written in English for this part of the world. Steve Van Dyck and Ronald Strahan (eds.), Mammals of Australia, 3rd ed. (2008); and Nick Garbutt, Mammals of Madagascar (2007), cover each of these islands’ unique and often peculiar fauna.
Advanced works
The most complete classification to the species level is Don E. Wilson and DeeAnn M. Reeder, Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 3rd ed., 2 vol. (2005). The most recent complete classification of mammals to the generic level is Malcolm C. McKenna and Susan K. Bell, Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level (2002). Widely used textbooks in mammalogy are Terry A. Vaughan, James M. Ryan, and Nicholas J. Czaplewski, Mammalogy, 6th ed. (2015); and George A. Feldhamer et al. (eds.), Mammalogy: Adaptation, Diversity, and Ecology, 4th ed. (2015). Scientific journals that publish papers dealing exclusively with mammals are Journal of Mammalogy and Mammalia, both issued quarterly.
Article Contributors
Primary Contributors
- Don E. Wilson
- J. Knox Jones
-
David M. Armstrong
Professor of Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder.
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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors
Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modified link of Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Mammal population regulation, keystone processes and ecosystem dynamics. | Sep 18, 2026 | ||
| Added interactive and updated the number of living mammal species. | Dec 12, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: PNAS - Global mammal distributions, biodiversity hotspots, and conservation. | Oct 02, 2025 | ||
| Added media. | Apr 01, 2025 | ||
| Questions and answers added. | Mar 17, 2025 | ||
| Media added. | Nov 27, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: Nature - Mammal responses to global changes in human activity vary by trophic group and landscape. | May 07, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: University of Hawaii - Exploring Our Fluid Earth - Mammals. | Mar 29, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: OpenStax - Biology - Mammals. | Dec 04, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Sam Houston State University - Department of Biological Sciences - Mammalian Characterstics. | Oct 17, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Mammal population regulation, keystone processes and ecosystem dynamics. | Aug 06, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Biology LibreTexts - Mammalia. | Apr 03, 2023 | ||
| Removed media. | Nov 17, 2021 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Feb 12, 2021 | ||
| Article revised. | Oct 25, 2017 | ||
| Added a map of Earth's faunal realms, several photos depicting various aspects of mammalian life, and diagrams depicting survivorship through time and the internal structure of a long bone. | Oct 25, 2017 | ||
| Bibliography revised and updated. | Oct 18, 2017 | ||
| Added illustrations of Lystrosaurus, Morganucodon, and Castorocauda. | Sep 26, 2017 | ||
| Clarified the meaning of "heterodont dentition" and updated the species counts for several mammalian orders. | Sep 26, 2017 | ||
| Media added. | Feb 17, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: San Diego Zoo - What Makes a Mammal? | Apr 04, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Enchanted Learning - Biography of Nelson Mandela. | Apr 04, 2014 | ||
| Species count of Order Artiodactyla changed from "202" to "about 200." | Dec 13, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Mammal. | Jan 27, 2013 | ||
| Classification restructured to accommodate Subclass Theria, a group that includes marsupials (Infraclass Metatheria) and placental mammals (Infraclass Eutheria), and an update to the species count of Subclass Prototheria and Order Tachyglossa. | Jan 25, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: NeoK12 - Educational Videos and Games for School Kids - Mammal. | Nov 03, 2011 | ||
| Add new Web site: Australian Broadcasting Corporation - Polar Mammals. | Sep 23, 2011 | ||
| Added mammalian phylogenetic tree. | May 25, 2011 | ||
| Added images of a leopard and an okapi. | May 25, 2011 | ||
| Add new Web site: Earth-Life Web Productions - Mammals. | Sep 03, 2010 | ||
| Add new Web site: Enchanted Learning - All About Mammals. | Aug 13, 2010 | ||
| Updated geologic time data. | May 20, 2010 | ||
| Added image depicting parallel evolution of marsupial and placental mammals. | Sep 15, 2009 | ||
| Geologic time data updated. | Sep 15, 2009 | ||
| Updated the 21st-century extinction risk to mammals in general, noted the greatest threats to mammal survival, and added a list of the various IUCN conservation categories. | Jan 08, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Environmental Education For Kids - Fun Fur Facts. | Jun 25, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: The Australian Museum Online - Mammals. | Jun 20, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Environmental Education For Kids - Mammals. | Jun 18, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - Animals - Mammals. | Jun 01, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Office of Naval Research - Ocean Life: Mammals - Characteristics. | May 18, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Animal Corner - Galapagos Mammals. | Feb 12, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Animal Diversity Web - Mammal. | Feb 11, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: EnchantedLearning - Ice Age Mammals. | Oct 11, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Central America.com - Mammals. | Jun 13, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Factophile - Classification of Mammals. |
|
Apr 17, 2007 | |
| Added new Web site: Paleocene-mammals.de - Paleocene Mammals of the World. | Jan 12, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: American Museum of Natural History - The Fossil Mammal Hall. | Jan 12, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: ThinkQuest - Mammal Zone. | Oct 20, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Comparative Mammalian Brain Collections. | Sep 06, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Animal Info - Information on Endangered Mammals. | Aug 08, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: University of California Berkeley Museum of Paleontology - Hall of Mammals. | Jun 28, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - Geography - How the Ice Age Worked. | Jun 19, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - Geography - How the Ice Age Worked. | Jun 19, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Smithsonian Institution - Arctic Studies Center - Arctic Mammals. | Jun 14, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Smithsonian Institution - Arctic Studies Center - Sea Mammals. | Jun 14, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: The Incredible World of Mammals. | May 23, 2006 | ||
| Article revised. | Feb 24, 2005 | ||
| Article revised. | Jan 17, 2002 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Jul 26, 1999 |