Mammalia (taxonomy)

Mammalia is a class of animal in the phylum Chordata. What it means to be a mammal has changed many times since Carl Linnaeus first defined the class. No system is accepted by everyone. McKenna & Bell (1997) and Wilson & Reader (2005) give useful recent compendiums. Many earlier ideas from Linnaeus and others are no longer used by modern taxonomists. Among these are the idea that bats are related to birds or that humans are a group outside of other living things. The field has had a recent surge in interest and modification due to the results of molecular phylogenetics.

Over 70% of mammal species are in the orders Rodentia (blue), Chiroptera (red) and Soricomorpha (yellow).

Rodentia   Chiroptera   Soricomorpha   Primates   Carnivora   Artiodactyla   Diprotodontia   Lagomorpha   Didelphimorphia   Cetacea   Dasyuromorphia

Afrosoricida   Erinaceomorpha   Cingulata   Peramelemorphia   Scandentia   Perissodactyla   Macroscelidea   Pilosa   Monotremata   Proboscidea

Class: Mammalia:

• Subclass: Prototheria (Monotremes or egg laying mammals)
  • Clade: Australosphenida
    • Order: Platypoda platypuses
    • Order: Tachyglossa echidnas
• Subclass: Theriiformes
  • Infraclass: †Allotheria (extinct)
    • Order: †Multituberculata (extinct)
      • Suborder: †Gondwanatheria (extinct)
  • Infraclass: Holotheria
• Supercohort: Theria (placentals or live bearing mammals)
  • Cohort: Marsupialia
    • Superorder: Ameridelphia
      • Order: Didelphimorphia
      • Order: Paucituberculata
    • Superorder: Australodelphia
      • Order: Microbiotheria
      • Order: Dasyuromorphia
      • Order: Peramelemorphia
      • Order: Notoryctemorphia
      • Order: Diprotodontia
  • Cohort: Eutheria
    • Superorder: Xenarthra
      • Order: Pilosa
      • Order: Cingulata
    • Superorder: Leptictida (extinct)
    • Superorder: Anagalida
      • Mirordo: Macroscelidea
      • Order: Rodentia
      • Order: Lagomorpha
    • Superorder: Archonta
      • Suborder: Dermoptera
      • Order: Primates
      • Order: Scandentia
      • Order: Chiroptera
    • Superorder: Lipotyphla
      • Order: Chrysochloridea
      • Order: Erinaceomorpha
      • Order: Soricomorpha
    • Superorder: Ferae
      • Order: Carnivora
      • Order: Cimolesta
    • Superorder: Ungulata
      • Order: Tubulidentata
      • Order: Uranotheria
        • Suborder: Hyracoidea
        • suborder: Proboscidea
        • Suborder: †Desmostylia (extinct)
        • Infraordo: Sirenia
      • Suborder: †Embrythopoda (extinct)
      • Order: Artiodactyla
        • Suborder: Cetacea
      • Order: Perissodactyla
    • Superorder †Meridiungulata
      • Order: †Notoungulata (extinct)
      • Order: †Astrapotheria (extinct)
      • Order: †Xenungulata (extinct)
      • Order: †Litopterna (extinct)
      • Order: †Condylarthra (extinct)