Category: Mammals
These medium sized mammals are native to North America and are known for their intelligence, facial mask, and dexterous paws. Their dark mask is thought to reduce glare and improve their night vision. Their most important sense is the sense of touch - almost two-thirds of the area responsible for sensory perception in the raccoon's cerebral cortex is specialized for interpreting tactile sensations.
A 200 Million Year-old Iconoclast
If a defining trait of mammals is that they give live birth to their young, how do you explain monotremes? Monotremes are mammals that lay eggs like a reptile, rather than giving birth to live young. Living examples of these unusual animals can only be found in Australia and New Guinea today, though they used to be more widespread. A monotreme egg has less yolk for supplying nutrients than a reptile egg, and when a young echidna or platypus hatches, it is very tiny and less developed than its reptile counterpart. But monotreme babies are able to grow and thrive because their mothers stay with them, lactating to supply vital nutrients for their growth - just like other mammals!
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Discover Animals is a web-based educational resource offered by the NAIA
