Knowra Ungulate Ungulate An ungulate is a hoofed mammal, such as a horse, deer, or rhinoceros. In zoology, the term also covers related evolutionary groups, including some animals without hooves.
Hoof : A tough covering on the ends of the toes of hoofed mammals, used to support weight and protect the digits. Ungulates are conventionally recognized by these weight-bearing structures.
Ruminant : A mammal that regurgitates and rechews food and uses a specialized, multi-chambered stomach for microbial fermentation. Many even-toed ungulates use rumination to extract nutrients from plant material.
Horse : A domesticated odd-toed ungulate descended from the wild horse, valued historically for transport, labor, and riding. The horse is a familiar perissodactyl with a single functional hoof on each foot.
Even-toed ungulate : A traditional name for mammals in Artiodactyla, whose weight is typically borne through the third and fourth toes. This familiar subdivision contrasts with the odd-toed group.
Perissodactyla : A mammalian order including horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs, characterized by an odd number of weight-bearing toes. This order contains the living odd-toed ungulates.
Foregut fermentation : Microbial digestion of food in a stomach chamber located before the small intestine. This digestive strategy powers many grazing and browsing ungulates.
White rhinoceros : A large African rhinoceros species that grazes mainly on grasses and has two keratin horns. Its massive body and multiple toes illustrate a very different perissodactyl form.
Odd-toed ungulate : A mammal in Perissodactyla, whose weight is typically borne through one or three toes. This traditional subdivision groups horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs apart from even-toed forms.
Artiodactyla : A mammalian order including pigs, camels, deer, cattle, and whales, traditionally defined by an even number of weight-bearing toes. This order contains the living even-toed ungulates and cetaceans.
Hindgut fermentation : Microbial digestion of plant material in the cecum and colon, after food passes through the small intestine. Horses use this alternative to the foregut fermentation common among ruminants.
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