All mammals are warm blooded animals that possess a backbone (vertebrate), are covered in hair, whose females feed milk to their young, and in most cases whose offspring is born live.
Mammals provide a number of varied ecosystem services. They are an important member of the food chain helping to control pests, they provide pollination services, and in some cases cultural service due to their inherent aesthetic value, which can tie in to education and ecotourism. In addition, diverse and abundant small mammals are a food source for larger predators. In many parts of the world wild mammals are still a significant part of the diet of indigenous people.
Discoveries of mammals new to science are rare. Learn more about a few of the most recent discoveries.
This long-tailed monkey subspecies was discovered in a remote region of the Amazon in Brazil.
The chinchilla tree rat was discovered in the Vilcabamba mountain range, very close to the world-famous ruins of Macchu Picchu.
This species was named after the late Margot Marsh, who during her lifetime provided significant support to worldwide primate conservation efforts.
As mouse lemurs go, this particular individual was of medium size – which still means it’s pretty small.