Learn: Mammals around the World

Order Eulipotyphla

Includes shrews, moles, desmans, and solenodonts; found in the N. Hemisphere, insectivorous/carnivorous, with venom in short-tailed shrews.

Fossorial adaptations of the Hispaniola solenodon

Forelimbs rotated outward, long claws, robust humerus, enlarged sternum, no pinnae, poor eyesight, and velvety fur.

Order Afrosoricida (Family Tenrecidae)

Primitive insectivores with a cloaca, no scrotum, and semiaquatic habits.

Order Erinaceomorpha (Family Erinaceidae)

Hedgehogs that are spiny and hairy, semifossorial omnivores, and heterothermic.

Order Macroscelidea

Elephant shrews found in Africa that are saltatorial when alarmed and exhibit periodic torpor during food/water stress.

Order Scandentia

Tree shrews (Family Tupaiidae) that feed on insects and fruit, resemble squirrels, and have an absentee parental care system.

Order Dermoptera

Colugos or flying lemurs ("skin wing") with an extremely elongated intestine for herbivory.

Eutherian mammals

Make up 94% of extant mammals, featuring a true chorioallantoic placenta and a trophoblast for nutrient and gas exchange in utero.

General characteristics of the anteater group

Abdominal testes, low metabolic rates, teeth lacking enamel, and low reproductive rates.

Order Pilosa

Includes Myrmecophagidae (anteaters that walk on knuckles) and Bradypodidae/Megalonychidae (sloths with algae-covered fur).

Herbivory adaptations in sloths

Chambered stomach for microbial fermentation, countercurrent heat exchange in limbs, and long guard hair with thick underfur.

Order Cingulata (Armadillos)

Possess powerful limbs for digging burrows and bony plates (scutes) covered by hardened epidermis.

Order Pholidota (Pangolins)

Scaly anteaters with a long, vermiform tongue, no teeth, and a thickened pyloric stomach portion containing pebbles to process food.

Order Tubulidentata (Aardvarks)

Characterized by complex turbinals and nostrils used to find insects via olfaction.

Myrmecophages distribution and competition

Occur worldwide only in tropical areas due to year-round food sources; high insect competition limits them to 1-2 species per area.

Order Monotremata

The only surviving group within Prototheria, including platypuses (Ornithorynchidae) and echidnas (Tachyglossidae).

Unique characteristics of Monotremes

Bird-like skull, reptile-like limb posture, egg-laying, single functional left ovary (in platypus), cloaca, and lack of a corpus callosum.