Mammals

(Class: Mammalia)

Around 386 species of mammal are found in Australia, around 7% of the world’s total, however 87% of these species are endemic to Australia and 20% of them are considered threatened. The name mammalia was coined by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, from the Latin mamma, which means “teat”, from the characteristic of all mammals in that they suckle their young with “milk” produced by the female. There are 3 main mammal groups: monotremes, marsupials and placentals.