Artiodactyls - a detachment of mammals, which has about 230 species. They have different sizes and appearance, but still have a number of similar features. What are the features of these animals? What is the difference between the artiodactyl and artiodactyl squads? We’ll talk about this.
Artiodactyls
The order of artiodactyls in biology is referred to as placental mammals and is divided into ruminant, non-ruminant and callopods. Mostly representatives of the order are herbivorous, some, for example, pigs, dukers, deers are omnivores.
They live on all continents except Antarctica. Only hippos lead a semi-aquatic lifestyle, the rest live on land. Most cloven-hoofed animals run fast. They move strictly parallel to the ground, therefore lacking collarbones.
They are rarely “loners”, usually uniting in herds. For the most part, artiodactyls are nomads. They do not stay long in one place, do not build holes and shelters, but constantly move in search of food. They are characterized by seasonal migrations.
Interestingly, their distant relatives are whales. Once upon a time, these huge sea creatures already went to land, and even had a common ancestor with modern hippos. The semi-aquatic way of life has changed them so much that to us they are more like fish. However, clever scientists have long guessed this rebus and combined the two orders into a group of cetaceans.
Differences from artiodactyls
Groups of artiodactyls and artiodactyls can easily be confused, but in reality they are far from identical. The most obvious difference is the structure of the hooves. In equine or unpaired animals, they cover an odd number of fingers. For example, in horses it is only one, in tapirs, three on the hind limbs and four on the front.
Another difference relates to the structure of the digestive system. In artiodactyls, it is significantly complicated. They have a four-chamber stomach, which allows more thorough processing of food. In artiodactyls, the stomach is single-chamber, and the main stage of digestion occurs in the large intestine.
The habitat of the artiodactyls is much narrower. In the past, they inhabited everywhere except Australia and Antarctica. Today, wild populations of these animals are found only in South and Central America, Central and Southeast Asia, East and South Africa.
What are hooves for?
The presence of a hoof is the main defining feature of artiodactyl and artiodactyl animals. These are horny "cases" covering phalanges of fingers of animals. In fact, this is a highly compacted and modified skin, the epidermis of which has turned into a corn.
They are necessary to cushion and prevent damage to the limbs. “Horn capsules” or “shoes” are not just processes. They are connected to blood vessels and increase the flow of blood to the fingers during active movement.
Hoofs of various species varied depending on the nature of the soil. So, in animals inhabiting an environment with soft soil, the horn case is wide and large. The inhabitants of rocky and rocky terrain hooves are narrow and small.
They account for the entire weight of the animal, while it is distributed unevenly, which is why some fingers become shorter. In artiodactyls, the third finger is best developed. The rest can be shortened (the horse completely disappeared). In mammals of the artiodactyl order, the third and fourth fingers are well developed. The first is reduced, and the second and fifth are greatly shortened and underdeveloped.
Ruminants
Most of the cloven-hoofed species belong to ruminants. By structure, these are, as a rule, slender animals that are able to inhabit both the flat steppes and high mountain ranges.
These include large and small livestock (goats, cows, sheep, yaks, buffaloes), as well as deer, giraffes, bison, bison, moose, wild goats , etc. Many have thick hair and two horns on their heads.
For ruminants, a special digestive system is characteristic. Their four-chamber stomach does not immediately pass food into the intestines. Passing through the first two sections, the food burps back into the oral cavity. There, it is thoroughly wetted with saliva and rubbed, and then sent to the remaining chambers of the stomach.
Ruminants lack upper incisors and fangs. In place of these teeth, there is a corpus callosum, which helps lower teeth cut grass. Anterior and lateral teeth are separated by a large gap. But the family of deer and musk deer has upper fangs. They resemble tusks and reach up to seven centimeters long. They need fangs for defense, catching small mammals and fish.
Non-ruminant
The non-ruminant suborder includes only three families: hippopotamus, pork, and bakery. All of them are large and massive animals. They have four fingers, the limbs are significantly shortened, compared with other mammals of the order artiodactyls, the structure of the stomach is simplified.
Pigs live in Eurasia and Africa, wild peccarians inhabit North and South America. Both families are very similar to each other. They have large heads with an elongated front part, short necks. The upper canines are well developed and protrude from the mouth either on the sides or strictly upright.
Hippos live only in Africa and belong to one of the largest animals in the world. Hippos can grow up to 3.5 meters in length and weigh from 2 to 4 tons. Most of the time they spend in the water, can dive and swim quickly. Two powerful lower fangs weighing up to three kilograms peep out from the mouth of the hippos. Because of them, animals become a frequent victim of poachers.
Callosity
Callosities are the least diverse suborder of artiodactyls. It includes only the camel family, which, in addition to camels, also includes llamas and vicunas. Their limbs have two fingers, on which there are no hooves, and there are large curved claws. The foot is soft, and on its sole there is a large corpus callosum.
Almost all callopods were domesticated by humans. They are bred in Asia, Africa and South America. Only one-humped camel in Australia, which has run wild a second time, is now free-living.
Animals have an elongated neck and slender long legs. Camels have one or two humps on their backs. They can live in mountainous and desert areas, able to endure the lack of water and food for a long time. People breed them for thick and soft hair, meat, and also use them as pack animals.