Mammals
More than 4,000 species of living mammals belong to the vertebrate class Mammalia. This diverse group of animals has certain common features: all have four legs, bodies covered by hair, a high and constant body temperature, a muscular diaphragm used in breathing, a lower jaw consisting of a single bone, and three bones in the middle ear. In addition, all female mammals have milk-producing glands. There are three living subclasses of mammals: the Monotremata (egg-laying mammals), the Marsupialia (pouched mammals), and the Placentalia (placental mammals).
Mammals range in size from bats, some of which weigh less than an ounce, to the blue whale, which weighs more than 200,000 pounds. Mammals are found in arctic climates, in hot deserts, and in every terrain in between....
[The entire page is 551 words long]
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