Mammals in Natural History: Evolution and Diversity

Mammals represent one of the most successful vertebrate lineages on Earth, with a fossil record spanning more than 200 million years and a living diversity of over 6,000 species distributed across every continent and ocean. This article examines the evolutionary history of mammals from their synapsid ancestors through Mesozoic diversification to modern placental radiations, and explains how natural history museum collections document this journey. For students, researchers, life-science professionals, and informed general readers, the practical outcome is a working timeline of mammal evolution with key milestones and guidance on interpreting museum exhibits as scientific evidence instead of static displays.

The Synapsid Origin of Mammals

Mammals belong to the synapsid lineage, a branch of amniotes that diverged from the diapsid lineage leading to birds and reptiles during the Carboniferous period. The evolutionary distance between these lineages is substantial, yet birds and mammals share a suite of functionally similar characteristics, including endothermy, that researchers consider a result of convergent evolution. A 2019 study in Proceedings of the Royal Society B used a molecular phyloecological approach to reconstruct the diel activity patterns of ancestral birds and found strong evidence that early birds adapted to nocturnality during their early evolution, remarkably similar to ancestral mammals. The authors proposed that shared traits in birds and mammals may have partly evolved as convergent adaptations to ecological factors associated with nocturnality, particularly low ambient temperature. Their unifying ecological model suggests endothermy may evolve as an adaptive strategy enabling organisms to conduct life-cycle activities under relatively low-temperature environments, with a habitat shift from high-temperature to low-temperature conditions identified as a common factor underlying endothermy evolution. This research, available through PubMed, provides a framework for understanding why mammals and birds independently developed temperature regulation.

The earliest mammals emerged from cynodont therapsids during the Late Triassic. These small, nocturnal insectivores possessed key mammalian features including a derived jaw joint, differentiated teeth, and the beginnings of the mammalian middle ear. The evolution of these features was not a simple linear progression. Research published in Nature in 2007 examined Mesozoic mammal fossils and found that classic scenarios of mammalian morphological evolution, which posited an orderly acquisition of key innovations leading to adaptive diversification, do not match the fossil evidence. Instead, the evolution of characters such as the middle ear and tribosphenic teeth was far more labile among Mesozoic mammals. Successive diversifications of Mesozoic mammal groups multiplied opportunities for many dead-end lineages to iteratively evolve developmental homoplasies and convergent ecological specializations parallel to those in modern mammal groups. This research, documented in PubMed, demonstrates that mammal evolution involved multiple independent evolutionary experiments instead of a single progressive sequence.

Mesozoic Diversification and the Mammalian Body Plan

During the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, mammals diversified into several major lineages while dinosaurs dominated terrestrial ecosystems. These early mammals occupied niches as small terrestrial insectivores, arboreal climbers, burrowers, and even semi-aquatic forms. The Mesozoic mammal fossil record reveals repeated evolution of similar ecological specializations across different lineages, a pattern of iterative evolution that continued throughout mammalian history.

The transformation from early synapsids to crown mammals involved reorganization of the skull, dentition, postcranial skeleton, and soft tissues. The mammalian middle ear, formed from bones that once contributed to the reptilian jaw joint, represents one of the most studied transformations in vertebrate evolution. The tribosphenic molar, capable of both shearing and grinding, appeared in multiple lineages and became a key innovation for dietary diversification. However, the 2007 Nature research emphasizes that these features evolved multiple times independently, with different lineages achieving similar functional outcomes through different developmental pathways.

Reproduction also underwent major evolutionary transitions. Research published in BioEssays in 2006 examined the pregastrula stage conceptus across monotreme, marsupial, and eutherian mammals. Despite apparent gross differences in early developmental strategy and form, the conceptuses of all three mammalian groups show remarkable similarities in lineage allocation to trophoblast and hypoblast and in the emergent properties of these two cell types. The authors suggested that gross differences in reproductive strategy can be explained by two relatively small evolutionary timing changes affecting cell adhesion patterns and the polarization of developmentally significant information. These changes resulted in the conversion of a unilaminar blastocyst to a morula form composed of blastomeres with increased regulatory capacity. This research, available through PubMed, explains how the three major mammalian reproductive strategies evolved from a common ancestral condition.

The Cretaceous-Paleogene Transition and Placental Radiation

The extinction of non-avian dinosaurs approximately 66 million years ago opened ecological opportunities for mammals. The subsequent Paleocene and Eocene epochs witnessed rapid diversification of placental mammals into the major lineages recognized today. A 2009 review in BioEssays described the new framework for understanding placental mammal evolution that emerged from molecular phylogenetics. The major groups are afrotheres including aardvarks and elephants, xenarthrans including anteaters and sloths, laurasiatheres including horses and shrews, and euarchontoglires including humans and rodents. This tree is remarkably stable compared with previous hypotheses, though some uncertainty persists about the location of the placental root and the position of certain groups such as bats within laurasiatheres, sea cows and aardvarks within afrotheres, and dermopterans within euarchontoglires. The new phylogenetic framework enables formulation and testing of new hypotheses, including a possible developmental dichotomy distinguishing members of the newly identified southern and northern radiations of living placental mammals. This research, documented in PubMed, provides the backbone for understanding modern mammalian diversity.

The placental mammal radiation produced an extraordinary range of body sizes and ecological adaptations. Research published in Scientific Reports in 2026 tested an analytical life history model of optimal body size using data on mammal life history and phylogeny. The model explained several macroevolutionary patterns, showing that the evolution of body size is explained in large part by life history optimization with respect to adult mortality under metabolic constraints on productivity. The model also explained plausible effects of climate change, diet, feeding mode, cursoriality, aquatic living, powered flight, and island endemicity on the evolution of body size. This research, available through Europe PMC, links microevolutionary processes to macroevolutionary patterns in mammal body size.

Cetacean Evolution: Return to the Sea

Among the most dramatic transformations in mammalian evolution is the cetacean return to marine environments. A 2018 review in Marine Genomics described the order Cetacea, comprising 88 species including Odontoceti or toothed whales and Mysticeti or baleen whales, as the most specialized and diversified group of mammals. The blue whale, with a maximum recorded length of 29.9 meters and 173 tonnes of weight, is the largest animal known to have ever existed, and dolphin brains are among the most powerful and complex in the animal kingdom, second only to primates. Cetaceans re-entered the oceans only a little over 50 million years ago, a relatively short time on the evolutionary scale. During this time cetaceans and humans developed marked morphological and behavioral differences, yet their genomes show a high level of similarity. The review focused on newly accessible cetacean genome tools and their relevance in studying the evolution of successful phenotypic adaptations associated with marine existence and their applicability to unresolved disease mechanisms in humans. This research, documented in PubMed, illustrates how molecular data complement the fossil record in understanding major evolutionary transitions.

The cetacean transition involved modifications to nearly every organ system, including loss of hind limbs, transformation of forelimbs into flippers, development of tail flukes, reorganization of the skull for echolocation or filter feeding, and physiological adaptations for deep diving and thermoregulation. The fossil record documents intermediate forms such as Ambulocetus and Pakicetus that retain terrestrial features while showing aquatic adaptations. Museum exhibits of these transitional fossils provide some of the most compelling evidence for evolutionary transformation available to the public.

Hibernation and Convergent Evolution

Mammals maintain their body temperature, yet hibernators can temporarily lower their metabolic rate as an energy-saving strategy. Hibernation evolved independently in multiple mammalian lineages, and research published in Scientific Reports in 2024 investigated whether this convergent evolution involved common genomic changes. The comparative genomic analysis identified accelerated conserved non-coding elements commonly associated with hibernation across hibernator lineages. Genes located near these accelerated elements and differentially expressed between normal and hibernation periods related to gene regulation and cell-fate determination. The authors suggested that the molecular mechanisms controlling hibernation have undergone convergent evolution, with high-frequency accumulation of mutations in conserved non-coding elements potentially altering expression of neighboring genes and contributing to acquisition of hibernation traits. This research, available through PubMed, demonstrates that convergent evolution operates at the genomic regulatory level in addition to the level of morphology and physiology.

Hibernation represents one of many examples of convergent evolution in mammals. Others include the evolution of powered flight in bats, echolocation in bats and toothed whales, burrowing adaptations in multiple rodent and insectivore lineages, and cursorial locomotion in horses, antelopes, and other open-country mammals. Museum exhibits that place these examples side by side help visitors understand that similar ecological challenges often produce similar evolutionary solutions even in distantly related lineages.

Morphological Evolution and Ecological Release

The pace of morphological evolution varies across mammalian lineages and environments. Research published in Current Biology in 2021 examined morphological saturation and release in mammals, documenting patterns of diversification and constraint in mammalian body form. Research published in PLoS Biology in 2006 found that morphological evolution is accelerated among island mammals, with island populations diverging more rapidly in body size and shape than their mainland counterparts. These studies, available through Elsevier and Elsevier, illustrate how ecological opportunity and environmental context influence the rate and direction of morphological change.

The concept of ecological release helps explain patterns observed in both the fossil record and contemporary island faunas. When mammals colonize islands, they often encounter reduced competition and predation compared with mainland environments, allowing rapid diversification into available niches. This process produced dwarfed and giant forms of many mammalian lineages on islands, from dwarf elephants in the Mediterranean to giant rats in the Pacific. Museum collections that include island endemics document these evolutionary experiments and their vulnerability to extinction following human arrival.

Behavioral Evolution and Lateralization

Mammalian evolution includes behavioral as well as morphological transformations. Research published in Psychological Bulletin in 2014 examined the evolution of the strongest vertebrate rightward action asymmetries, comparing marine mammal sidedness and human handedness. Marine mammals and humans show the strongest manifestations of a vertebrate-wide tendency toward rightward action asymmetry associated with routine behavior. Marine mammal asymmetries usually involve whole-body actions associated with feeding, and the human-like strength of these asymmetries may result from problems of external aquatic support for the reactive component of demanding lateral maneuvers in large marine mammals pursuing prey. The authors suggested that the asymmetrical primate heritage may have begun with a rightward whole-body asymmetry in prosimians, perhaps resulting from problems of support for the reactive component of action in arboreal habitats. Monkeys and apes subsequently added right-sided adaptations for manipulation, bimanual coordination, bipedalism, throwing, and manual communication through distal elaboration of limb function. The strength of human right-handedness may result partly from further elaboration of these simian action adaptations and partly from an evolving cognitive superstructure for tool use and language. This research, documented in PubMed, connects behavioral evolution to neural and morphological changes across mammalian lineages.

Neural Evolution and Consciousness

The evolution of mammalian brains involved increases in relative brain size, reorganization of neural circuits, and elaboration of cognitive capacities. Research published in BioEssays in 2005 compared the neural basis of consciousness in birds and mammals. The authors argued that given multiple complex cognitive functions correlated with presumed consciousness in mammals, this correlation holds for birds as well. The neuroanatomical features of the forebrain common to both birds and mammals may be those crucial to the generation of both complex cognition and consciousness. Most of the critical structures presumed necessary for consciousness in mammalian brains have clear homologues in avian brains. Considering that the reptile-bird brain transition shows more structural continuity than the stem amniote-mammalian transition, the line drawn at the origin of mammals for consciousness by several theorists seems questionable. The authors also noted that consciousness cannot be ruled out in the absence of complex cognition and may in fact be a necessary prerequisite for complex cognition. This research, available through PubMed, has implications for understanding the evolution of mammalian cognition and for interpreting the cognitive abilities of non-mammalian vertebrates.

At a Glance: Mammal Evolution Timeline

Museum Collections as Evolutionary Evidence

Natural history museum collections provide the physical evidence base for understanding mammal evolution and diversity. These collections include fossil specimens, skeletal material, taxidermy mounts, fluid-preserved specimens, tissue samples, and genetic resources. Each type of specimen contributes different information to evolutionary research, and museum exhibits translate this research for public audiences.

The National Museum of Natural History and Science at the University of Lisbon houses a mammal collection of 6,158 specimens from 131 species across 10 orders, the great majority collected within Portugal with smaller datasets from other parts of Europe and Africa. Research published in Diversity in 2024 described the most represented orders as Rodentia, Eulipotyphla, and Carnivora, in contrast to Chiroptera, Cetacea, and Artiodactyla. Approximately 40 percent of the species within these groups are of conservation concern according to national and international conventions, with nearly 20 percent at risk of extinction based on IUCN criteria. The representativity of species in the collection reflects the museum's coverage of species records across the country, with smaller, non-threatened species more prominently represented and larger, at-risk species comparatively underrepresented. The authors discussed the influence of conservation, economic, legal, and ethical factors on species spatial coverage, providing insights into variability observed in museum collections. This research, available through Semantic Scholar, demonstrates how museum collections document both biodiversity and the historical and social contexts of specimen acquisition.

A separate study of the same museum's African small mammal collection, published in Diversity in 2025, examined 279 specimens representing 32 species of Macroscelidea and Rodentia gathered during the Portuguese colonial period in Mozambique, Angola, and Guinea-Bissau. Rodents dominate the collection, reflecting their natural abundance and diversity, while Macroscelidea are less represented. The Angolan subset has the highest number of both specimens and species, Mozambique is underrepresented, and the Guinea-Bissau subset offers extensive rodent representation. The collection includes the neo-paratype of Dasymys nudipes from Angola. Most species are common and not currently threatened, with geographic origins corresponding to savanna and forest habitats. This research, available through Semantic Scholar, highlights the importance of integrating historical data with current biodiversity assessments to support multidisciplinary studies.

The Hungarian Natural History Museum provides another example of how collections grow and change. Research published in Annales Musei historico-naturalis hungarici in 2025 documented additions to the list of type specimens of recent mammals between 1992 and 2025. The number of represented taxa increased from 32 to 69 and type specimens from 116 to 216, primarily due to intensive research on steppic rodents and Paleotropical bats. The newly added types are predominantly from the families Rhinolophidae, Hipposideridae, and Vespertilionidae within the order Chiroptera, and from the families Sminthidae and Spalacidae within the order Rodentia, with single type specimens from the families Equidae and Echimyidae also presented. This research, available through Semantic Scholar, shows how research focus shapes collection development and how type specimens anchor taxonomic knowledge.

Interpreting Museum Exhibits Critically

Museum exhibits of mammals serve as first exposure to the natural world for many people, and charismatic megafauna accurately sculpted, mounted, and displayed provide views into biomes far from what many members of the public ever experience. However, research published in Biodiversity Information Science and Standards in 2024 examined whether taxidermy mammal body sizes differ from their species counterparts in contemporary populations. Specimen sex biases in museum collections of vertebrates have been well documented, and this known sex bias equates to body size bias for mammal groups that exhibit high rates of sexual-size dimorphism, such as members of the orders Artiodactyla, Perissodactyla, and Carnivora. The study assessed how taxidermy mammal body sizes differ compared to species counterparts in contemporary populations and found that taxidermy mammals exhibited to the public may bias impressions of what contemporary wild mammals actually look like with regard to body size and armament ornamentation such as antlers and horns. Human hunters tend to preferentially take the largest animals of a population, leaving smaller animals to reproduce, and taxidermy mammal collections acquired by museums may reflect this hunting bias. This research, available through Semantic Scholar, has important implications for how museums present mammals to the public.

Those who care for taxidermy collections aim to exhibit awe-inspiring but accurate representations of the natural world. Fostering amazement in visitors is important, but showing only the largest individuals may bias public perception of what these mammals look like in nature today. Museums increasingly address this challenge by providing contextual information about specimen provenance, sex, age, and collection history, and by including specimens that represent the full range of variation within species.

Practical Steps for Studying Mammal Evolution in Museums

For students and researchers planning to use museum collections for studying mammal evolution, several practical steps can improve outcomes. First, identify the research question and determine which specimen types are most appropriate. Fossil specimens document historical patterns of diversification, skeletal material allows study of morphological variation, and genetic samples enable molecular analyses. Second, contact collection managers in advance to confirm specimen availability, access policies, and any restrictions on destructive sampling. Third, document specimen metadata carefully, including collection locality, date, collector, and any associated field notes. Fourth, recognize that museum collections have inherent biases related to collection history, taxonomic focus, and geographic coverage, and account for these biases in interpretations.

Records and measurements should include standard morphological measurements appropriate to the research question, photographs of specimens from standardized angles, and detailed notes on specimen condition. Digital databases maintained by many museums allow researchers to query specimen holdings remotely before visiting, improving efficiency and reducing unnecessary handling of specimens.

Common Failure Patterns in Museum-Based Research

Several common failure patterns can compromise museum-based research on mammal evolution. Inadequate attention to specimen provenance can lead to incorrect geographic or temporal assignments. Failure to account for sexual dimorphism can bias morphological comparisons, particularly in groups such as artiodactyls, perissodactyls, and carnivorans where males and females differ substantially in body size. Overlooking taphonomic biases in fossil collections can lead to incorrect inferences about past diversity and ecology. Insufficient sample sizes, particularly for rare or threatened species, limit statistical power and generalizability. Researchers should also recognize that museum collections may underrepresent certain groups, as documented in the Lisbon museum study where larger, at-risk species were comparatively underrepresented.

Conservation Context and Museum Relevance

Museum collections contribute directly to conservation science by documenting historical distributions, providing baseline data for assessing population changes, and serving as genetic repositories for threatened species. The Lisbon museum research demonstrated that approximately 40 percent of species in the collection are of conservation concern according to national and international conventions, with nearly 20 percent at risk of extinction based on IUCN criteria. Collections that document species before declines or extinctions become increasingly valuable as reference points for understanding ecological change.

Research on Australian mammal declines illustrates the applied value of long-term monitoring and collection data. A study of Garig Gunak Barlu National Park in the Northern Territory, published in 2026, examined fire patterns and distance from coast in relation to mammal patterns between 2004 and 2017. The researchers found a distinctive change in fire and mammal patterns with respect to distance from the coast, with early and late dry season burning increasing inland and a concomitant decrease or persistence in some key species on this fire gradient. The authors concluded that fire management in northern Australia still needs targeted research linked to active management to more effectively prevent declines of mammal populations. This research, available through Europe PMC, demonstrates how monitoring data inform conservation decisions.

A related study of Nitmiluk National Park, also published in 2026, examined standardized mammal survey data collected from 2005 to 2018. Despite subtle differences in methods over the years, the researchers found some annual changes in mammals but little discernible pattern of change correlated with fire regime. Instead, there was a distinct reduction in survey effort. The authors concluded that the study provides further support for the pitfalls of ecological monitoring losing focus, being decoupled from management actions, and allowing ill-conceived changes in design. They recommended that future monitoring focus on key management questions, best methods for target taxa such as camera traps, more regular and flexible sampling linked to a conceptual model, and integration and co-design with local land managers, rangers, and Traditional Owners. This research, available through Europe PMC, highlights the importance of consistent, well-designed monitoring programs for detecting and responding to mammal population changes.

Regional Research Programs

Research on mammal genetics and evolution continues to advance in many regions. A 2021 review in Acta Theriologica Sinica documented research advances and perspectives in the genetics and evolution of mammals in China, covering topics including phylogenomics, population genetics, and adaptive evolution. This research, available through Elsevier, illustrates the global scope of mammalian evolutionary research and the importance of regional scientific communities in building knowledge of mammal diversity.

Limitations and Professional Escalation Criteria

Museum-based research on mammal evolution has inherent limitations. Fossil records are incomplete and biased toward environments that favor preservation. Molecular data are unavailable for extinct species except where ancient DNA can be recovered. Morphological characters may be subject to convergent evolution, complicating phylogenetic inference. Researchers should acknowledge these limitations in publications and interpretations.

Professional escalation criteria apply when research findings have conservation or management implications. When monitoring data suggest population declines, researchers should notify relevant management agencies promptly. When taxonomic revisions affect protected species, consultation with regulatory authorities is appropriate. When collections contain specimens of threatened species, researchers should ensure compliance with permit requirements and ethical guidelines. When research involves potentially destructive sampling of type specimens or irreplaceable material, approval from collection managers and institutional review boards is required.

Frequently Asked Questions

What defines a mammal in evolutionary terms?

Mammals are defined by a suite of derived characteristics including mammary glands, hair, three middle ear bones, and a synapsid skull architecture. In evolutionary terms, crown mammals share a common ancestor that possessed these features, while stem mammals include earlier synapsids that had not yet acquired the full mammalian suite of characteristics. The transition from synapsid ancestors to crown mammals occurred gradually over millions of years, making the boundary between non-mammalian synapsids and mammals a matter of ongoing scientific discussion.

How do museum collections contribute to understanding mammal evolution?

Museum collections provide the physical specimens that document morphological variation, geographic distribution, and evolutionary relationships. Fossil specimens record extinct lineages and transitional forms, skeletal material allows study of functional morphology, and genetic samples enable molecular phylogenetic analyses. Collections also serve as historical baselines for assessing contemporary biodiversity change, as demonstrated by research on the Lisbon museum collections that documented species distributions and conservation status.

What are the major groups of living placental mammals?

The major groups of living placental mammals are afrotheres including aardvarks and elephants, xenarthrans including anteaters and sloths, laurasiatheres including horses and shrews, and euarchontoglires including humans and rodents. This phylogenetic framework, established through molecular studies, is remarkably stable compared with previous hypotheses, though some uncertainty persists about the location of the placental root and positions of certain groups such as bats within laurasiatheres.

How did whales evolve from land mammals?

Cetaceans re-entered the oceans a little over 50 million years ago, evolving from terrestrial artiodactyl ancestors. The fossil record documents intermediate forms with progressively more aquatic adaptations, including changes in limb structure, skull morphology, and sensory systems. Modern cetaceans include 88 species divided between toothed whales and baleen whales, with the blue whale being the largest animal known to have ever existed.

Why do birds and mammals share similar traits despite distant evolutionary relationships?

Birds and mammals share functionally similar characteristics including endothermy because of convergent evolution. Research suggests that both lineages adapted to nocturnality during their early evolution, and shared traits may have partly evolved as a result of convergent adaptation to ecological factors associated with nocturnality, particularly low ambient temperature. Endothermy may have evolved as an adaptive strategy enabling organisms to conduct life-cycle activities under relatively low-temperature environments.

How does hibernation evolve in mammals?

Hibernation evolved independently in multiple mammalian lineages through convergent evolution. Comparative genomic research has identified accelerated conserved non-coding elements common to hibernator lineages that may alter expression of neighboring genes and contribute to acquisition of hibernation traits. Genes near these accelerated elements relate to gene regulation and cell-fate determination, suggesting that molecular mechanisms controlling hibernation have undergone convergent evolution.

What biases exist in museum mammal collections?

Museum mammal collections exhibit several documented biases. Specimen sex biases have been well documented, and this equates to body size bias for mammal groups with high rates of sexual-size dimorphism such as artiodactyls, perissodactyls, and carnivorans. Taxidermy specimens may bias impressions of what contemporary wild mammals look like because human hunters tend to preferentially take the largest animals. Collections may also underrepresent larger, at-risk species due to conservation, economic, legal, and ethical factors.

How can museum visitors interpret mammal exhibits critically?

Visitors should consider specimen provenance, including collection locality, date, and collector, and recognize that individual specimens may not represent the full range of variation within a species. Museums increasingly provide contextual information about specimen sex, age, and collection history. Visitors should also recognize that taxidermy mounts may reflect historical hunting practices that preferentially selected large individuals, and that exhibits represent scientific interpretations that may change as new research emerges.

Related Articles

• Evolution Of Genome
• Evolution Of Genome
• Evolution Of Genome
• Evolutionary Biology
• history of diseases

References and Further Reading

• NCBI Literature Resources. National Center for Biotechnology Information.
• PubMed. National Library of Medicine.
• Convergent evolution of bird-mammal shared characteristics for adapting to nocturnality.. Proceedings. Biological sciences, 2019.
• Convergent accelerated evolution of mammal-specific conserved non-coding elements in hibernators.. Scientific reports, 2024.
• Transformation and diversification in early mammal evolution.. Nature, 2007.
• The new framework for understanding placental mammal evolution.. BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology, 2009.
• Evolution of the neural basis of consciousness: a bird-mammal comparison.. BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology, 2005.
• Evolution of the strongest vertebrate rightward action asymmetries: Marine mammal sidedness and human handedness.. Psychological bulletin, 2014.
• Trophoblast and hypoblast in the monotreme, marsupial and eutherian mammal: evolution and origins.. BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology, 2006.
• On the revolution of cetacean evolution.. Marine genomics, 2018.
• The pattern of mammal change in Garig Gunak Barlu (Cobourg) National Park suggests a fire-mediated pathway to decline and one for recovery. 2026.
• Monitoring data indicates some annual change in the mammal fauna at Nitmiluk National Park between 2005 and 2018 but a reduction in effort confounds any interpretation. 2026.
• Life history optimization and the macroevolution of mammal body size.. 2026.
• Additions to the list of type specimens of recent mammals in the Hungarian Natural History Museum: 1992-2025 (Vertebrata: Mammalia). Annales Musei historico-naturalis hungarici, 2025.
• Meet the Mini-Mammals: A Night at the Natural History Museum by Melissa Stewart (review). Bulletin of the Center for Children`s Books, 2025.
• Exploring Size Bias of Natural History Museum Specimens: Comparing Historic Taxidermy Mammals to Contemporary Populations. Biodiversity Information Science and Standards, 2024.
• African Small Mammals (Macroscelidea and Rodentia) Housed at the National Museum of Natural History and Science (University of Lisbon, Portugal). Diversity, 2025.
• Mammals in the Collection of the National Museum of Natural History and Science (University of Lisbon, Portugal): A Contribution to Research and Conservation. Diversity, 2024.
• Fish skeletons with hyperostosis in the Ichthyological Collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna (Austria). Annals of the Natural History Museum Vienna, 2025.
• Research advances and perspectives in the genetics and evolution of mammals in China. Acta Theriologica Sinica, 2021.
• Evolution: Morphological saturation and release in mammals. Current Biology, 2021.
• Morphological evolution is accelerated among island mammals. Plos Biology, 2006.

This article is educational and does not replace institutional policy, professional advice, or applicable safety and regulatory requirements.