Chiroptera, the second largest mammalian order, is comprised solely of bats. These winged creatures are the only mammals capable of true flight. The order is broken into two suborders, Megachiroptera, the large herbivorous fruit bats, and Microchiroptera, the small insectivorous bats. The predatory insectivorous bats hunt flying insects by means of echolocation. Fruit bats lack the ability of echolocation. Bats vary in size from 1.5 grams to as large as 1500 grams. Bats roost in caves, hollow trees, foliage and human habitations. They are important to humans because they consume many insects and therefore prevent crop destruction.

25 pictures, last one added on Jul 02, 2009

Marsupials comprise around 272 species. They are an ancient group, very diverse in body form, and they occupy an enormous range of ecological niches. Today, most marsupials are found in Central and South America (around 70 species) and Australasia (around 200 species).

Order Insectivora is comprised of a wide variety of mammals, from the pygmy shrew to the spiny hedgehog. They are considered to be "primitive" mammals, most lack a separate opening for the genitals and anus. Insectivores vary greatly in appearance. They typically have a long snout, some are covered in a mouse-like fur with a hairy, smooth tail, others are covered in spines and lack tails entirely.
Insectivores have an excellent sense of smell and touch, but have poor senses of sight and hearing. They live in a wide variety of habitats, from streams to open meadows to deep underground. They are absent from Australia and most of South America. There are 419 species in 6 families

11 pictures, last one added on Jul 02, 2009

With over 2000 living species placed in about 30 families, rodents are by far the largest order of mammals. They are found around the world except in Antarctica, New Zealand, and on some oceanic islands. Ecologically, they are incredibly diverse. Some species spend their entire lives above the ground in the canopy of rainforests; others seldom emerge from beneath the ground. Some species are highly aquatic, while others are equally specialized for life in deserts. Many are to some degree omnivorous; others are highly specialized, eating, for example, only a few species of invertebrates or fungi.

63 pictures, last one added on Jul 02, 2009

Currently, we recognize 80 living species of lagomorphs. Native populations are found on all continents except Australia and Antarctica; they are absent from southern South America and most islands. Humans have introduced them, however, to many areas where they were originally not part of the fauna.

5 pictures, last one added on Jan 13, 2006

Two species in the world. Enormous and unmistakable.

1 pictures, last one added on Jul 01, 2007

Large carnivores which cary most of their body weight on the third toe of the foot.

1 pictures, last one added on Jul 01, 2007

Artiodactyla, or cloven-hooved mammals, include such familiar animals as sheep, goats, camels, pigs, cows, deer, giraffes, and antelopes - most of the world's species of large land mammals are artiodactyls. There are about 220 living species placed in 10 families.

35 pictures, last one added on Sep 04, 2008

Carnivora is the order of eutherian mammals that includes wolves, dogs, cats, raccoons, bears, weasels, hyaenas, seals, and walruses, to name just a few. Most carnivores are land animals, but an important and highly specialized group of carnivores, the pinnipeds or "fin-feet," have taken up life in the oceans; pinnipeds include seals, sea lions, and walruses. A few other carnivores, such as the sea otter, are also specialized for life in the oceans.

40 pictures, last one added on Dec 09, 2007

The Primates order is divided informally into three main groupings: prosimians, monkeys of the New World, and monkeys and apes of the Old World. The prosimians are species whose bodies most closely resemble that of the early proto-primates. The most well known of the prosimians, the lemurs, are located on the island of Madagascar and to a lesser extent on the Comoros Islands, isolated from the rest of the world. The New World monkeys include the familiar capuchin, howler, and squirrel monkeys. They live exclusively in the Americas. The Old World monkeys and the apes, inhabit Africa and southern and central Asia, although fossil evidence shows many species existed in Europe as well.

1 pictures, last one added on Jul 01, 2007

The Cetacea is one of the most distinctive and highly specialized orders of mammals. They include the largest animal that has ever lived, the blue whale; the highly intelligent and communicative dolphins; the tusked narwhals and blind river dolphins and singing humpback whales -- nearly eighty living species in all. Although hunting and other human activities have endangered most cetacean species, the outlook for many is improving.

7 pictures, last one added on Aug 27, 2003