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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Mammalia \Mam*ma"li*a\, noun pl. [NL., from L. mammalis. See {Mammal}.] (Zo["o]l.) The highest class of Vertebrata. The young are nourished for a time by milk, or an analogous fluid, secreted by the mammary glands of the mother.
Note: Mammalia are divided into three subclasses; I. {Placentalia}. This subclass embraces all the higher orders, including man. In these the fetus is attached to the uterus by a placenta. II. {Marsupialia}. In these no placenta is formed, and the young, which are born at an early state of development, are carried for a time attached to the teats, and usually protected by a marsupial pouch. The opossum, kangaroo, wombat, and koala are examples. III. {Monotremata}. In this group, which includes the genera {Echidna} and {Ornithorhynchus}, the female lays large eggs resembling those of a bird or lizard, and the young, which are hatched like those of birds, are nourished by a watery secretion from the imperfectly developed mamm[ae].
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
Mammalia
noun: warm-blooded vertebrates characterized by mammary glands in the female [syn: {class Mammalia}]
From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:
MAMMALIA, nounpl. A family of vertebrate animals whose females in a state of nature suckle their young, but when civilized and enlightened put them out to nurse, or use the bottle.
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