Health Dictionary
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Theria
Introduction
Theria (Template:PronEng, from the Greek θηρίον, wild beast) is a subclass of mammals[1] that give birth to live young without using a shelled egg, including both eutherians (placental mammals) and metatherians (marsupials and their ancestors).
Extent
Extent
The subclass includes humans. They have external ears, most can suckle on a nipple, and have an ankle specialized for power and range of motion. Therians are often classified by their specialized dentition.
Almost all currently extant (not extinct) mammals are therians. The only exceptions are the platypus and the echidnas (spiny anteater), both of which are prototherian monotremes.
Bibliography
Bibliography
- Vaughan, Terry A., James M. Ryan, and Nicholas J. Czaplewski. 2000. Mammalogy: Fourth Edition. Saunders College Publishing, 565 pp. ISBN 0-03-025034-X
References
References
- ↑ Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. “Subclass Theria”. Animal Diversity Web.