Mammals are vertebrates. They have a backbone which surrounds a sheath of nerves which directs in turn to a mind in a carton or skull. They furthermore have four limbs and exceptional pentadactyl finishes to these limbs (i.e. 5 appendages and toes). Reptiles, amphibians and even birds, as well as the awe motivating dinosaurs, are constructed round this identical straightforward plan. Before this there were fish which had the backbone and the skull, but not the pentadactyl limbs.
Fish are attractive ancient; they first emerged round 510 million years ago. Nobody dwelled on land then, ...