mammals Flashcards
Mammary Glands
the milk-producing gland of women or other female mammals.
Hair
any of the fine threadlike strands growing from the skin of humans, mammals, and some other animals.
Endothermic
(of an animal) dependent on or capable of the internal generation of heat.
Insectivores
an insectivorous animal or plant.
Carnivores
an animal that feeds on flesh.
Omnivores
an animal or person that eats food of both plant and animal origin.
Ruminant herbivores
are mammals that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by fermenting it in a specialized stomach prior to digestion, principally through microbial actions
Incisors
a narrow-edged tooth at the front of the mouth, adapted for cutting. In humans there are four incisors in each jaw.
Molars
a grinding tooth at the back of a mammal’s mouth.
Canines
a pointed tooth between the incisors and premolars of a mammal, often greatly enlarged in carnivores.
Monotremes
a primitive mammal that lays large yolky eggs and has a common opening for the urogenital and digestive systems. Monotremes are now restricted to Australia and New Guinea, and comprise the platypus and the echidnas.
Marsupials
a mammal of an order whose members are born incompletely developed and are typically carried and suckled in a pouch on the mother’s belly. Marsupials are found mainly in Australia and New Guinea, although three families, including the opossums, live in America.
Placental
a placental mammal.
Chiroptera
an old order dating to early Eocene: bats: suborder Megachiroptera (fruit bats); suborder Microchiroptera (insectivorous bats) Synonyms : order chiroptera.
Primates
the chief bishop or archbishop of a province.
Xenarthra
a suborder or other division of Edentata comprising the American anteaters, armadillos, sloths, and usually the extinct ground sloths.
Rodentia
noun. A gnawing mammal of an order that includes rats, mice, squirrels, hamsters, porcupines, and their relatives, distinguished by strong constantly growing incisors and no canine teeth. They constitute the largest order of mammals.
Lagomorpha
The lagomorphs are the members of the taxonomic order Lagomorpha, of which there are two living families: the Leporidae (hares and rabbits) and the Ochotonidae (pikas). The name of the order is derived from the Ancient Greek lagos (λαγώς, “hare”) +morphē (μορφή, “form”).
Proboscidea
a mammal of the order Proboscidea, which comprises the elephants and their extinct relatives.
Sirenia
a large aquatic plant-eating mammal of the order Sirenia, such as a manatee or dugong.
Perissodactyla
an order of nonruminant ungulate mammals (as the horse, the tapir, or the rhinoceros) that usually have an odd number of toes, molar teeth with transverse ridges on the grinding surface, and posterior premolars resembling true molars—compare artiodactyla.
Artiodactyla
an order of hoofed mammals (as the sheep, goat, pig, camel, or ox) with an even number of functional toes on each foot—compare perissodactyla.
Cetacea
a marine mammal of the order Cetacea ; a whale, dolphin, or porpoise.
Therapsids
an extinct reptile of a Permian and Triassic order, the members of which are related to the ancestors of mammals.
