Generally the “cutest” of the animal kingdom, mammals are a class of vertebrate animal and possess mammary glands, three bones in the middle ear and hair and/or fur. This class of animals consists of over 26 orders and about 5000 species.
These animals are warm blooded which means they are capable of maintaining their body temperature. Their fur or hair offers physical protection and insulation from the environment. With a few exceptions, animals of this class give birth to live young. At birth, new borns are not completely developed and require their parents to provide for them while they mature.
Mammals have adapted to survive and thrive in some of the harshest habitats on the planet. The thrive in the hottest temperatures in Death Valley to the coldest temperatures in the arctic or swim the deepest oceans. Mammals can range is size from over 100 tons to just a fraction of an ounce. Mammals are some of the fastest and slowest animals on the planet. They can run, climb, swim and fly. The mammalia class of animals is distributed world wide and contains great ability to adapt to its environment with the possible exception of the microbes.
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