The Evolution of Mammals Mammals are vertebrates.

* backbone which encloses a sheath of nerves which leads in turn to a brain in a box or skull. * four limbs and special pentadactyl ends to these limbs (i.e. 5 fingers and toes).

Reptiles, amphibians, birds, as well as the dinosaurs, are built around this same simple plan. Fish had the backbone and the skull, but not the pentadactyl limbs.

Fish transformed their fins into legs, developed lungs legs for moving and lungs for breathing. The invasion of the land had begun. About 10 million years later reptiles started to differentiate - from amphibians and diversity Various groups evolved out of these early reptiles crocodiles, dinosaurs and birds, - to a strange group of animals called the Mammal-like Reptiles.

Mammals evolved from a group of reptiles called the synapsids. These reptiles arose during the Pennsylvanian Period (310 to 275 million years ago). A branch of the synapsids called the therapsids appeared by the middle of the Permian Period (275 to 225 million years ago).

The Mammal-like Reptiles, or Therapsids * first appeared near the beginning of the Permian which is well before the dinosaurs. * evolved quickly and many different groups arose. * were very successful until about the end of the Permian,

 about 245 million years ago,

something catastrophic happened nearly all of the species then living died out. New species evolved rapidly to fill this empty habitat, among them: * the first dinosaurs and * few million years later the first mammals

Early in the evolution of the therapsids arose a group called the cynodonts.

These early mammals were small, insectivorous, nocturnal, hairy and warm-blooded.

Warm-bloodedness- first evolved among the cynodonts, successful group of mammal-like reptiles from which the mammals evolved. The cynodonts - only mammal-like reptiles to survive to the Jurassic, nearly made it into the Cretaceous, and definitely coexisted with many of the major dinosaurs.

The cynodonts dominated the world of 250 million years ago. At this time, all the land masses were joined together in one supercontinent, called Pangaea. By about 200 million years ago, the dynasty of the cynodonts suddenly was ended by the appearance of dinosaurs. Early mammals played a very small role in the world, often termed the 'Dark Ages' of mammalian evolution. However, the evolution of the remaining mammals did not stop.

While dinosaurs were getting larger and developing extensive defensive and offensive tools, evolving primarily their physical hardware,
the evolution of the early mammals used its energy in evolving their brain and behavioral software.

During the Jurassic the mammals * remained small * mainly nocturnal, * living beneath the 'metaphorical feet of the great dinosaurs. These early mammals were more like small monotremes and probably laid eggs still.

These mammal-like reptiles gave rise to a branch of: * primitive mammals (prototheria) living descendants, the monotremes: * duckbilled platypus and * spiny anteater.

Towards the end of the Jurassic a group of mammals known as 'multituberculates' appeared. * the most successful of the primitive mammal groups * with species still alive only 30 million years ago (MYA) * had survived as a group for 130 million years Some of the later multituberculates possessed * marsupial-like bone structures which indicate that they had pouches like marsupials, suggesting a similar life cycle involving live birth of very premature young. (marsupials (metatheria branched off )

During this period of dinosaur dominance, the three forms of mammals that still exist today appeared; * the monotremes, * the marsupials, and * the placentals.
All three of these groups are believed to have originated from a common ancestor.

The end of the Cretaceous however saw another mass extinction - known as K-T event : * resulted in the complete extinction of the dinosaurs * saw the death of all the Pterosaurs, the flying reptiles. * all these species dying out left huge niche vacancies in the habitat. * the mammals alone of the remaining groups of animals diversified to take advantage of this new situation.

Over the next 15 million years the remaining 10 mammal families (five became extinct with the dinosaurs during the K-T event) expanded to become 78 families by the early Eocene. This sudden massive increase in species from a single stem group is an example of what is called 'adaptive radiation'.

By the middle of the Eocene (45 MYA) all the major groups of mammals alive today had come into existence.

During the 2nd half of the Eocene (12 million years) the Oligocene (23 million years) and the Miocene (18 million years) the mammals have been dominant.

The changes from a reptilian to a mammal's lifestyle is significant.

Reptiles are cold-blooded. During cold periods and at night, the reptile must accept substantial down time, awaiting the warmth of the next day to get started again.
This leads to a lifestyle of relatively short bursts of energy needed to catch its prey and long periods of inactivity while the body processes the food.

Mammals are warm-blooded, generating their heat internally, retaining it by insulation of fur and/or fat.

Having a more consistent body temperature more continuous activity level, more fuel (food) required to supply the energy necessary for this active lifestyle. more efficient metabolism is required which means greater oxygen intake abilities and nutrient uptake.
Larger lungs, diaphragm, a four-chambered heart, and improved circulatory systems were the result.

Reptiles relied on giving birth to eggs. Eggs are basically left to hatch and fend for themselves. Mammals evolved a system of reproduction which leaves the young to develop more fully inside the mother. After birth, * the young are afforded extended parental care reliable provision of the mother's mammary glands. * the young can spend its energy in further physiological growth. Allowed more time for the development of a more complex organism and the cerebral system in the mammalian ancestry.

The hallmarks of today's mammals - hair, - warm blooded and - milk-producing glands

The earliest mammals are the ancestors of todays' monotremes. Monotremes resemble reptiles and differ from all other mammals in that they lay shellcovered eggs that are incubated and hatched outside of the body of the mother. Like reptiles, the ducts of the excretory system and the genital ducts open into a single external opening known as the cloaca (thus, the ordinal name Monotremata )

Like mammals, they have fur, - a four-chambered heart, but incomplete, - warm-blooded, but the body temperature averages lower than that of other mammals - nurse their young from specialized glands,but there are no nipples; rather, the milk is excreted through skin glands, with the young suckling the body fur to receive the milk. The monotremes are represented today by two species of echidnas and one species of platypus.

The mammalian line ceased laying eggs and began bearing live young. These forms of mammals were the first marsupials - bore their young at a very early stage in their development and transferred them to a pouch where modified sweat glands secreted milk.

By the the end of the Cretaceous (65 million years ago), Pangaea had begun to break apart. These early marsupials (and the limited number of monotremes) were the sole inhabitants of the southern land mass, Gondwanaland, The marsupial lines radiated out to fill out every niche available.

In Laurasia, another branch of mammals took the marsupial reproductive strategy one step further. As the early mammals evolved, they continued to expand their awareness of the environment reflected in improved senses of sight, smell, touch and hearing. The embryo remained in the uterus, receiving nutrients and oxygen from the mother for an extended amount of time, enabling the development of the brain.

The splitting of the placentals from the marsupials date back to about 120 million years ago. The first living placental order is believed by most scientists to be the Insectivores (including shrews and moles), while others support the Xenarthra, which includes the armadillos, sloths, and anteaters as more primitive.

About 70 million years ago, placentals and marsupials arrived in South America; * the placentals being the herbivores, and * the marsupial, the carnivores. By the end of the Cretaceous period, some 65 million years ago, as the continents diverged, the climate became more erratic, the vegetation changed, and the dinosaurs disappeared, the 'Age of Mammals' finally gets under way.