AN INTRODUCTION TO

MAMMALS
Abstract
Mammals are the most diverse species on Earth. It is vital to understanding the
origin of mammals by using fossil records as evidence. Fossil records that are
recently discovered hold a significant information regarding the origin of mammals.
Mammals have different sizes, forms and shapes. These varieties help mammals to
demonstrate adaptive behavior in order to survive the environmental and habitat
changes. All mammals are interacting with each other. Human, as a species of
mammal, domesticates the other species. The domestication may impact the
intelligence strategy of some mammals. The domestication requires studying the
behavior of species related to the physical structure, such as migratory behavior,
communication behavior, and sexual behavior. The reproductive system in mammal
differs from the other species. Mammals have several reproductive strategies that
are aligned with the changes in environment and habitat.
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.3489.3208

SAMEH F. ABDELGHANY

AN INTRODUCTION TO MAMMALS

An Introduction to Mammals
Introduction
Mammals are the most diverse species on Earth. It is vital to understanding the origin of mammals
by using fossil records as evidence. Fossil records that are recently discovered hold a significant
information regarding the origin of mammals. Mammals have different sizes, forms and shapes.
These varieties help mammals to demonstrate adaptive behavior in order to survive the
environmental and habitat changes. All mammals are interacting with each other. Human, as a
species of mammal, domesticates the other species. The domestication may impact the intelligence
strategy of some mammals. The domestication requires studying the behavior of species related to
the physical structure, such as migratory behavior, communication behavior, and sexual behavior.
The reproductive system in mammal differs from the other species. Mammals have several
reproductive strategies that are aligned with the changes in environment and habitat.
The Origin of Mammals
Mammals are evolved from early amniotes as the fossil records show that the therapsids have
similar features of both reptiles and mammals. The early amniotes had divided into two main lines;
synapsids, and sauropsids. Synapsids are said to be the origin of all mammals including extinct
mammals. Therapsid mammal-like reptiles, belong to synapsids. Sauropsids- that includes
anapsids and diapsids are different than synapsids in the structure of the skull and the number of
temporal fenestrae behind eyes. The first mammals arose before the extinction of synapsids in the
Jurassic period, 195 Ma (Habib, 2014). I can argue that mammals are evolved from amphibians. Both
amphibians and mammals have two occipital condyles in their skull. Mammals have left aortic arch
to resemble amphibians. This is assumed by H.T Huxley (1880) (Dhami and Dhami, 1987). However,
I do not agree with him on this point. In amphibians, the exoccipital is evolved into occipital condyles,
while basioccipital is evolved in mammals into occipital condyles.

Dhami, P. and Dhami, J. (1987). Chordate Zoology. New Delhi: R. Chand & Co.

SAMEH F. ABDELGHANY

AN INTRODUCTION TO MAMMALS

There are insufficient fossil records that explain the origin of mammals. The fossil evidence that is
discovered in Spain, Spinolestes xenarthrosus, is very useful. It shows the skeletal morphology
changes through the geological time. This is an excellent fossil that explains the ancestor of mammals.
It shows some skeletal events in the evolutionary history of mammals, for example, the mandible that
has a single dentary bone. It also indicates that the dentition is evolved and specialized. The braincase
is large and the body covered by fur, that means it was endothermic. The Cynodont that existed about
260 MA is a transitional fossil (BioLogos, 2012). It shows that the early mammals had two jaw
hinges. I would maintain that this fossil is a vital one as it shows the slow development of the ears.
Paleontologists have found a pair of bones in the cynodont fossils that developed slowly to ears.
Personally, I prefer referring to the Spinolestes xenarthrosus fossil. It was the primary fossil that I
based my discussion with my colleagues.
The evolution of synapsid achieved in several steps. Those steps are called pulses. There are seven
pulses of synapsid evolution (Palaeos.com, 2016):
The first pulse Permian, the pelycosaurs were occupying the tropical areas. Its body was
ectothermic, and the body form was medium to large size. They had a sprawling posture. The early
pelycosaurs were meat-eating synapsids. The second pulse existed in early to middle Triassic.
Therapsids appeared that have evolved from pelycosaurs. They had a higher metabolic rate than
pelycosaurs. They occupied a wider range of habitat than pelycosaurs; the jaw musculature has
become bigger, and the posture has improved. In the Late Triassic, the third pulse existed. The
cynodont therapsids evolved. The body structure is modified, the first appearance of the diaphragm,
secondary palate, specialized dentition and some evidence of endothermic characters. The fourth
Pulse the Late Triassic to Mid-Early Cretaceous, the first appearance of early mammals. They
covered wider geographic areas, but with little diversity. The fifth pulse, first thorium mammals,
Late-Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous. It is associated with the diversity of angiosperm plant. The
sixth Pulse, abundant in Early Paleocene to Middle Eocene. The appearance of archaic therians and
didelphoid marsupials. The species were abundant in tropical forests worldwide. The seventh Pulse
occurred in Late Eocene to Recent. By Middle Eocene, the modern therions marsupials are limited to
the South America, Asia, and Australia. Mammals inhabit a broad range of area with the diversity of
different groups like bats, whales, and hominoids. The terrestrial mammal size is ranged up to 5000
kg while the aquatic mammals size is up to 10000 kg.
Mammalian Adaptability
Mammals have different forms, sizes, and shapes. This variety because it occupied a broad range of
area on earth. All mammals have mammary glands, which are a group of cells that secrete fluids
(Biggs et al., 2004). Mammal also has a unique form of skin and hair. The skin is composed of two
layers outer nonvascular epidermis layer and an inner layer of corium. The surface of the
mammalian skin is covered with lipids, and organic salts. This coat has the antifungal and
antibacterial properties. It is an imperative part of the mammal form. I believe, its importance is it
moderate body temperature and the blood pressure. Terrestrial mammals have hair that covers their
bodies. Whale adults are hairless. However, they have hair in utero. Some aquatic species have fur,
such as in beavers. Some terrestrial species have also fur that covers their body. The importance of
SAMEH F. ABDELGHANY

AN INTRODUCTION TO MAMMALS

hair is it works as an insulator. Hair also can be work as a sensory organ, as in cats, dogs, and whales.
The teeth distinguish all mammals. Teeth in mammals are well adapted to their different types of
food. Some hoofed mammals have cud chewing that helps mammals to break the cellulose plant wall
into nutrients that they can absorb quickly. The aquatic mammals have excellent strategies of
adaptation. The body shape of them is unique. It has fish-like shape, head is elongated, and
streamline body. It is a vital body shape as it minimizes the resistance of water during locomotion
(Chandran, Rani, and Sekar, 2007). Aquatic mammals have large sizes and weights. It reduces the
loss of heat and skin friction.
Domestication and Intelligent Strategies
Domestication is a process that has taken an extended period to have a unique economic
importance. Domesticated animals initially are used as a source of food, such as sheep and goats.
Some of the mammal species, dogs, for example, were used in hung games and to warn breeders of
dangers. I would like to maintain that this strategy is a good early strategy of domestication as some
of the villagers still used dogs to protect their yards. Here, in Kuwait, and near to my workplace, some
of local Camel breeders still use dogs to protect their camels. Later, domestication provided an
economic importance. Breeders used mammalian milk for trading. Horses played a significant role in
the transportation and the wars as well. There are several examples of successful domestication for
economic importance. Llamas Lama glama, wool is used commercially, Water buffalo, Bubalus
bubalis, are used to plow rice paddies and pull carts (Ryan, Vaughan and Czaplewski, 2015).
Personally, I like the idea of the economic importance of the domestication. The interaction between
human and animals is very useful for human. However, sometimes domestication has some cons.
One of the remarkable con that might affect the domesticated animal is the reduction of its
intelligent strategies. Some studies have noted a systematic decrease in the size of domesticated
species brain compared with their wild species (Zeder, 2012). The studies discovered that the
mammals with a larger brain have high degrees of brain reduction, while the smaller brain size
species has a little effect of brain reduction. The decline in the brain size is a clear sign of the reduction
of the species intelligent strategies. Some of the species that have a significant reduction in their brain
size; pigs, Sus scrofa, Silver fox, Urocyon cinereoarenteuc, and Sheep, Ovis aries. Despite these studies
have very strong evidence of the reduction of intelligent skills of domesticated animals, I can argue
that it might miss some of the methods of domestication. In the circus, you can see that the animal
trainer trains his animals to do some games. Animals can jump and play with their trainers. However,
if we look into the wild, intelligent skills, such as hunting skills, it might be true that the domestication
might affect these skills.
Mammalian Behavior, Diversity and Communication Strategies
The mammalian behavior depends on its physical structure and its lifestyle. Mammals are
endothermic, so they need more energy than ectothermic of the same size. The thermoregulation
plays a vital role in the way of mammal behaves. Sensory organs affect the mammalian behavior. As
well, for example, the auditory functions play an important role in some mammal species. Bats and
some marine mammals have very developed and specialized echolocation capabilities. They emit a
sound signal and interpret the received reflected sound waves to determine the objects positions.
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AN INTRODUCTION TO MAMMALS

Also, the vision sensor in mammals is developed in many species. The spectral range of the mammals
differs from species to another. Not all species have full-color viewing (Hogan and Ervin, 2016).
Nocturnal mammals have large well-developed eyes. Mammals use vision in hunting, navigation,
locomotion and foraging. They use vision also in communication. Some species release odors as a
defense against predators. The structure of mammals teeth can determine the hunting behavior of
mammals. Lions, for example, can hunt by using its limbs and strong teeth to control its prey. Some
mammal species that live in territories will defend their areas by pushing away other individuals.
Many species use pheromones to identify their territory boundaries. Aggressive behavior involves
actual or potential harm to another individual (Huntingford, 2016). A magnificent example of
aggressive behavior is found in a male bighorn sheep. When another male threatens the territory of
the male bighorn sheep, they fight to the death to protect his territo
Communication in mammals varies from a species to another. The marine mammals have different
means of communication than terrestrial mammals. Some mammals use sounds, sights, touches or
smell to signal each other. In marine mammals, for example, Dolphins use sound to communicate.
Some species sing to attract females, such as humpback whales. Whales are a good example of using
low-frequency sound to communicate. These sounds can be used in both social and sexual signals
during communication. I would like to argue that the communication in marine ecosystem is tough.
Water can transfer few amounts of waves, so marine mammals use water current, some frequencies
of sound and sometimes odor to communicate. However, the terrestrial mammals use a wide range
of communication skills. Human use languages and writing skills to communicate.
Mammal species occupy wide ranges of Earth surface. They existed in all continents and all marine
ecosystems. There are around 5000 species of living mammals, classified into 125 families and 29
orders (Wilson, 2016). There are three main classes of mammals; Placental mammals, Pouched
Mammals, and Monotremes Mammals. The most diverse living mammals are rodents. The high
diversity of mammals is a result of two major events; plate tectonics, as the continents, have moved
throughout the Earth geological history and mammals migration. Migration is a movement of an
animal from its habitat to another. There are many types of migration. The marine mammals and
large herbivorous mammals demonstrate seasonal migration strategy. Mammals migrate to the most
favorable conditions of food and weather. Bats, for example, in the cold and temperate regions move
to warm areas in the winter. Some mammals, especially herbivorous of cold regions, have summer
and winter ranges, such as caribou. In temperate areas, some mammals such as African antelopes,
they use the seasonal migration strategy to avoid the draught (Feldhamer et al., 2015). The migration
can be a change of altitude, or latitude or both. Most mammals migrate horizontally; other mammals
migrate vertically. Some of the marine mammals move from the deep water to the shallow levels of
water. I believe that these different strategies of the mammal migration helped to provide a larger
diversity of mammals. This, in my opinion, gives the mammal a unique advantage to occupy vast areas
of Earth.
Mammalian Reproduction
All species of mammals reproduce sexually that means the males sperm fertilizes the females egg.
Mammals viviparous that produce offspring alive. However, there are some egg-laying animals such
SAMEH F. ABDELGHANY

AN INTRODUCTION TO MAMMALS

as the duck-billed platypus. Mammals offspring are not born immediately after fertilization. Offspring
need a period of development in the uterus or womb. This period is called gestation; that is called in
human as pregnancy (The Open Door Web Site, 2016). Both male and female have specialized
reproductive systems. The external structure of the male reproductive tract consists of the penis
and the scrotum. The scrotum contains testes that exist outside the body. The urethra is a tube that
carries the sperm to the female vagina (Brooker, 2011). The female reproductive structure consists
of several organs. Ovary, the site of oogenesis, is responsible for hormone production. Oviducts,
uterine tubes, provides a place for fertilization. Cervix and uterus exist at the end of the vagina. The
male sperms move through the cervix into the uterus. The vagina is a tube that lies posterior to the
uterus.
Reproductive systems in different mammalian species (Prior, 2014):
Monotremata

Marsupials

Placenta

Method

Sexually: They produce a Sexually

hard-shelled egg

Sexually

Feeding baby

No nipples

Nipples Existed

Female
reproductive
Structure

Nipples existed

No vagina but one opening

called
cloaca.
Uterus has two
chambers.
Paired of ovaries
similar to those in
birds and reptiles.
Mammary glands
-

There is posterior
urogenital
sinus.
Two vaginae and
the urethra.
A pair of uteri and a
cervix extends from
the top of each
vagina.
Mammary glands

Male
Reproductive
Tract

Same as in the Placental Same as Eutherian Mammals

mammals
but
the bifurcate
penis
is
posterior
to
the scrotum.
-

Examples

Platypus

Kangaroo

Two ovaries.
Two uterine tubes.
A single uterus.
Single Vagina
Mammary glands
are not part of the
reproductive
system

Two Testes.
Scrotum
Sac
around testes.
Penis
Urethra
Prostate.
Ejaculation ducts
at the end of
urethra
Human

Reproductive Strategies
Many mammals used to breed, and to mate seasonally when the environmental conditions are
suitable for reproduction and breeding. Females of some species store male sperm until the condition
of the environment become suitable for fertilization. This is a vital strategy in order to adapt to the
environmental changes. This approach called Delayed Fertilization. Another strategy that some
SAMEH F. ABDELGHANY

AN INTRODUCTION TO MAMMALS

mammals practice is Delayed Implantation. Some females delay eggs. I believe this strategy is not
that much effective than the delayed fertilizations. Not all mammalian females can delay producing
eggs. However, the third approach is Delayed Development that means the female can delay or slow
down the development after implantation (Wund, and Myers, 2016). This is the most efficient
strategy. I can argue that this is more efficient adaptive strategy than the previous two strategies.
However, the delayed implantation in many diverse groups of mammals that the delayed fertilization
and delayed development. The delayed development strategy is rarely understood. I cannot
understand this strategy and in which cases the animal may use. The long-tailed weasel, Mustela
frenara, and the least weasel, Mustela nivales, both occur in the same habitat. However, the least
weasel demonstrates delayed development; the long-tailed does not (Feldhamer et al., 2015), so there
is no particular method for the reproductive strategy in some mammals.
Conclusion
It is evident that mammals are descended from early amniotes. The fossil records show how
mammals are related to the early amniotes. These evolutionary stages have done in several steps
that called evolutionary pulses. Domestication has used as a source of food and animal games, but
now it has an economical importance. Mammals occupy a large diversity on earth; that is because the
successful migratory behavior. They have physical structures that help them to communicate and
reproduce.

SAMEH F. ABDELGHANY

AN INTRODUCTION TO MAMMALS

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SAMEH F. ABDELGHANY