2006-11-07 12:24:05 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
They have fur, they deliver their young and don't lay eggs, they're warm blooded.
2006-11-07 12:26:07 · answer #1 · answered by UNI Panther 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You already have good answers with characterizations of mammals.
However, a characterization (i.e. a list of typical features) is not the same as a diagnosis (i.e. an accurate list of characters or combinations of these that only occur in a given taxonomic group).
There are many other animals that are viviparous (live-bearing), as well as egg-laying mammals; similarly, other animals are homeotherm (warm-blooded), therefore these are not diagnostic mammalian traits.
You can tell a mammal because it:
- has hair/fur
- feeds their young with milk
- has a lower jaw formed by a single bone, the dentary
- has 3 ossicles in the middle ear
among other characteristics, for instance general complexity of the dentition that includes different types of teeth (incisors, molars, etc).
Anyway, beavers qualify on the basis of these diagnostic characters.
2006-11-07 14:23:40 · answer #2 · answered by Calimecita 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mammals:
1. are warm-blooded
2. have hair on their bodies
3. nurse their young via mammary glands (thus the name "mammals)
Beavers qualify on all three counts.
Beavers also bear live young, as do most mammals. Some mammals (called "monotremes") lay eggs. The best known monotreme is the platypus, which still qualifies as a mammal.
2006-11-07 12:47:57 · answer #3 · answered by actuator 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They are warm-blooded, have hair/fur, and produce milk for their offspring. Thy also give live birth, but that's not what makes them a mammal. Echidnas and platypus lay eggs, but they're mammals. Also, some non-mammals, like guppy fish, give birth to live young.
2006-11-07 12:33:37 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The have their offspring naturally without having them in eggs.
PS - we are talking about 'beaver' the animal, right?
2006-11-07 12:25:59 · answer #5 · answered by happy g 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
They give birth to live offspring. only mammals give live birth.
2006-11-07 12:26:18 · answer #6 · answered by clb199 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Covered in fur, bear live offspring, regulate their body temperature internally, breath air with lungs not gills...
2006-11-07 12:31:32 · answer #7 · answered by steve d 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
they are a rodent like mice. Mice are mammals.
2006-11-07 12:27:04 · answer #8 · answered by Scorpius59 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
wow dude... they're mammels! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW wow
that's like.............weird. And like well~REALLY weird. COOOOOOOOOOOOL. I always thought they were like an amphibian or something. i acually learned something today! hey thanks!
2006-11-07 12:27:53 · answer #9 · answered by gigglegeek 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
they can swim
2006-11-07 12:31:26 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋