Artiodactyla

Thesaurus

Noun

Artiodactyla - an order of hooved mammals of the subclass Eutheria (including pigs and peccaries and hippopotami and members of the suborder Ruminantia) having an even number of functional toesorder Artiodactylaanimal order - the order of animalsEutheria, subclass Eutheria - all mammals except monotremes and marsupialsartiodactyl, artiodactyl mammal, even-toed ungulate - placental mammal having hooves with an even number of functional toes on each footfamily Suidae, Suidae - pigs; hogs; boarsfamily Tayassuidae, Tayassuidae - peccariesfamily Hippopotamidae, Hippopotamidae - hippopotamiRuminantia, suborder Ruminantia - cattle; bison; sheep; goats; antelopes; deer; chevrotains; giraffes; camelsCamelidae, family Camelidae - camels and llamas and vicunas

Artiodactyla

[‚ärd·ē·ō′dak·tə·lə] (vertebrate zoology) An order of terrestrial, herbivorous mammals characterized by having an even number of toes and by having the main limb axes pass between the third and fourth toes.

Artiodactyla

an order of mammals. Each foot has two or four digits; the third and fourth digits are most highly developed because they bear most of the body weight. The toes are enclosed in horny caps, or hooves. The molars are alveolar or tuberculate and are adapted for grinding tough vegetable food. The clavicle is absent. Unlike perissodactyls, the third trochanter of the femur is absent. Artiodactyls are vegetarians. The stomach is most often compound, with several compartments, and is adapted for digesting coarse fodder.

There are two suborders of artiodactyls: Nonruminantia and Ruminantia. The suborder Nonruminantia comprises the families Hippopotamidae and Suidae. The Ruminantia embrace six families: Camelidae, Tragulidae, Cervidae, Antilocapridae, Bovidae, and Giraffidae. The Camelidae are sometimes regarded as the separate suborder Tylopoda or as a separate order. Most agricultural animals, including swine, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats, are artiodactyls.

REFERENCES

Sokolov, I.I. Kopytnye zveri (Otriady Perissodactyla i Artiodactyla). Moscow-Leningrad, 1959, (Fauna SSSR: Mlekopitaiushchie, vol. 1, part 3.)
Mlekopitaiushchie Sovetskogo Soiuza, vol. 1. Edited by V. G. Geptner and N. P. Naumov. Moscow, 1961.

I. I. SOKOLOV

Artiodactyla

Ar·ti·o·dac·ty·la

(ar'ti-ō-dak'ti-lă), An order of even-toed ungulates having either two or four digits, with the axis between the third and fourth; for example, pig and hippopotamus with four; camel, deer, giraffe, antelope, and cow with two. [G. artios, even in number, + daktylos, finger]

Artiodactyla

the even-toed ungulates (i.e. animals possessing hoofs with two or four toes), such as cattle, pigs, deer and camel. Compare PERISSODACTYLA.

Artiodactyla

noun

Synonyms for Artiodactyla

noun an order of hooved mammals of the subclass Eutheria (including pigs and peccaries and hippopotami and members of the suborder Ruminantia) having an even number of functional toes

Synonyms

order Artiodactyla

Related Words

animal order
Eutheria
subclass Eutheria
artiodactyl
artiodactyl mammal
even-toed ungulate
family Suidae
Suidae
family Tayassuidae
Tayassuidae
family Hippopotamidae
Hippopotamidae
Ruminantia
suborder Ruminantia
Camelidae
family Camelidae