Mammalogy

Mammalogy is the scientific study of mammals, a diverse group of vertebrates that includes roughly six thousand living species. Mammals are characterized by hair or fur, mammary glands in females, three middle ear bones, and endothermic metabolism. They typically give birth to live young, although the monotremes (platypus and echidnas) lay eggs.

Mammalogy encompasses the taxonomy, anatomy, physiology, behavior, ecology, and evolution of mammals. The class Mammalia is divided into three major groups: monotremes, marsupials, and placentals. Monotremes are egg-laying mammals found in Australia and New Guinea; marsupials give birth to highly altricial young that complete development in a pouch; placentals include the majority of species and have long gestation inside a uterus with a placenta.

Key areas of study include comparative anatomy, functional morphology, thermoregulation, dentition, and sensory systems. The fossil record, including early cynodonts, documents the origin of mammals in the late Triassic, with extensive diversification after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event leading to the modern placentals.

Mammalogy also involves applied sciences such as conservation biology, wildlife management, and disease ecology. Research informs taxonomy, paleontology, and genomics, and contributes to understanding human health through comparative biology and biomedical model organisms.