A mammal (from Latin mamma 'breast')[1] is a vertebrate animal of the class Mammalia

(/məˈmeɪli.ə/). Mammals are characterized by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for
feeding their young, a neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three middle ear bones. These
characteristics distinguish them from reptiles and birds, which they diverged from in the
Carboniferous Period over 300 million years ago. Around 6,400 extant species of mammals have
been described and divided into 29 orders. The largest orders of mammals, by number of species,
are the rodents, bats, and Eulipotyphla (including hedgehogs, moles and shrews). The next three
are the Primates (including humans, monkeys and lemurs), the even-toed ungulates (including pigs,
camels and whales), and the Carnivora (including cats, dogs and seals). Mammals are the only
living members of Synapsida; this clade, together with Sauropsida (reptiles and birds), constitutes
the larger Amniota clade. The early synapsids were sphenacodonts, a group that included the
famous Dimetrodon. The synapsids split into several diverse groups of non-mammalian
synapsids—traditionally and incorrectly referred to as mammal-like reptiles or by the term
pelycosaurs, and now known as stem mammals or protomammals—before giving rise to therapsids
during the beginning of the Middle Permian period. Mammals originated from cynodonts, an
advanced group of therapsids, during the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic. The modern mammalian
orders arose in the Paleogene and Neogene periods of the Cenozoic era, after the extinction of
non-avian dinosaurs, and have been the dominant[vague] terrestrial animal group from 66 million
years ago to the present. The basic mammalian body type is quadruped, and most mammals use
their four extremities for terrestrial locomotion; but in some, the extremities are adapted for life at
sea, in the air, in trees, underground, or on two legs. Mammals range in size from the 30–40 mm
(1.2–1.6 in) bumblebee bat to the 30 m (98 ft) blue whale—possibly the largest animal to have ever
lived. Maximum lifespan varies from two years for the shrew to 211 years for the bowhead whale. All
modern mammals give birth to live young, except the five species of monotremes, which are
egg-laying mammals. The most species-rich group of mammals, the cohort called placentals, have a
placenta, which enables the feeding of the fetus during gestation.
The common ancestor may be an individual, a population, or a species (extinct or extant). Clades
are nested, one in another, as each branch in turn splits into smaller branches. These splits reflect
evolutionary history as populations diverged and evolved independently. Clades are termed They are
an important food source for predators and part of the food web dynamics of many of the world's
ecosystems. The skin is semi-permeable, making them susceptible to dehydration, so they either
live in moist places or have special adaptations to deal with dry habitats. Frogs produce a wide
range of vocalizations, particularly in their breeding season, and exhibit many different kinds of
complex behaviors to attract mates, to fend off predators and to generally survive.

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