Mammal vs. Marine Mammal

The issue of defining the Hawaiian Monk Seal as a mammal came up for debate this afternoon at the state house. Kudos to Gerry for hanging in there and ultimately reminding them the bigger picture here was not the definition but either way the species is in trouble and if something doesn't happen soon, well they won't be around to debate...

This prompted me to look a little closer... and Gerry I would love to know which "web sites" this woman kept referring to in which science defines them as marine mammals and not a mammal...
So I went to the Wikipedia and there are approximately 5,400 species that fall under the definition of mammal... Here's the definition from Wikipedia: "Mammals (class Mammalia) are vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of sweat glands, including milk producing sweat glands, and by the presence of: hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in the brain. Also all mammals, other than the monotremes, give birth to live young instead of laying eggs. Most mammals also possess specialized teeth and use a placenta in the ontogeny. The mammalian brain regulates endothermic and circulatory systems, including a four-chambered heart. Mammals encompass approximately 5,400 species, ranging in size from the Bumblebee Bat, (30-40mm), to the Blue Whale, (33,000mm), distributed in about 1,200 genera, 153 families, and 29 orders,[1] though this varies by classification scheme."

My next look was the definition of marine mammal which for all purposes is a sub-category... basically it says; "Marine mammals are a diverse group of roughly 120 species of mammal that are primarily ocean-dwelling or depend on the ocean for food."

My motivation to post this information is for two reasons.... One to let most of you know the silliness that comes up when good people take time out of their busy lives to do something for the greater good.... AND secondly if any of our friends at the state house come by they can feel free to comment and open the subject up for debate.

Please anyone feel free to comment....

As a side note: a special thank you to Georgette and Gerry for running around the state house with me this afternoon trying to maintain the support for passing the Hawaiian Monk Seal as the State MAMMAL and designating the 3rd Saturday in April as Hawaiian Monk Seal Day.