Content
- What are Hoofed Animals
- Characteristics of ungulate animals
- List with examples of ungulate animals
- Perissodactyls
- Artiodactyls
- Primitive Hoofed Animals
- Endangered ungulate animals
In recent years, the definition of "ungulate" has been debated by experts. Whether or not to include certain groups of animals that apparently have nothing to do with it, or the question of what the common ancestor is, have been two of the reasons for the discussion.
The term "ungulate" derives from the Latin "ungula", which means "nail". They are also called unguligrade, as they are four-legged animals that walk on their nails. Despite this definition, at one point, cetaceans were included in the group of ungulates, a fact that does not seem to make sense, since cetaceans are legless marine mammals. So, in this PeritoAnimal article, we want to explain the definition of ungulate animals and which species are currently included in the group. Good reading.
What are Hoofed Animals
Hoofed animals are a superorder of animals that walk leaning on their fingertips or they have an ancestor who walked this way, although their descendants currently do not.
Previously, the term ungulate was applied only to animals with hooves belonging to the orders Artiodactyla(even fingers) and Perissodactyla(odd fingers) but over time five more orders have been added, some of them don't even have paws. The reasons why these orders were added were phylogenetic, but this relationship has now been shown to be artificial. Therefore, the term ungulate no longer has taxonomic importance and its correct definition is “hoofed placental mammal”.
Characteristics of ungulate animals
The very meaning of "ungulate" anticipates one of the main characteristics of the group: they are hoofed animals. The hooves are nothing more than modified nails and, as such, are composed of unguis (a very hard scale-shaped plate) and subunguis (softer inner tissue that connects the unguis to the finger). The ungulates do not touch the ground directly with their fingers, but with this modified nail that wraps the finger, like a cylinder. The finger pads are behind the hoof and touch the ground in animals such as horses, tapirs or rhinos, all belonging to the order of the perissodactyls. The artiodactyls only support the central fingers, the lateral ones being very reduced or absent.
The appearance of hooves was an evolutionary milestone for these animals. The hooves support the full weight of the animal, with the bones of the fingers and wrist being part of the leg. These bones have become as long as the limb bones themselves. These changes allowed this group of animals to avoid predation. Your steps got wider, being able to run at a higher speed, dodging their predators.
Another important feature of ungulate animals is the herbivory. Most ungulates are herbivorous animals, with the exception of swine (pigs), which are omnivorous animals. Furthermore, within the ungulates we find the ruminant animals, with its digestive system largely adapted to plant consumption. As they are herbivores and also prey, ungulate babies, after birth, can stand upright and in a very short time they will be able to flee from their predators.
Many of the animals that make up the ungulate group have horns or antlers, which they use to defend themselves and sometimes play a key role in the search for a partner and in courtship, as they are used in rituals performed by males to demonstrate their superiority.
List with examples of ungulate animals
The group of ungulate animals is very wide and diverse, even more if we add the ancient animals considered to be ungulates, such as cetaceans. In this case, let's focus on the most current definition, hoofed animals. Thus, we found several groups:
Perissodactyls
- horses
- donkeys
- Zebras
- tapirs
- rhinos
Artiodactyls
- camels
- llamas
- Wild pig
- pigs
- boars
- deer mice
- antelopes
- giraffes
- Wildebeest
- Okapi
- deer
Primitive Hoofed Animals
Since the hull was defined as the main characteristic of ungulates, evolutionary studies have focused on finding the common ancestor who first possessed this characteristic. These primitive ungulates would have a poorly specialized diet and were quite omnivorous, it is even known that some were insectivorous animals.
Studies of the fossils found and of anatomical features connected five orders of various groups of now extinct ungulates to a single common ancestor, the order of Condylarthra, from the Paleocene (65 – 54.8 million years ago). This group of animals also gave rise to other orders, such as cetaceans, currently nothing like this common ancestor.
Endangered ungulate animals
According to the red list of the IUCN (International Organization for the Conservation of Nature), there are many species that are currently in decline, such as:
- Sumatran rhinoceros
- plain zebra
- Brazilian tapir
- african wild ass
- mountain tapir
- tapir
- Okapi
- water deer
- Giraffe
- Goral
- Cobo
- oribi
- black duiker
The main threat of these animals is the human being, which is wiping out populations through the destruction of their habitat, whether for the creation of crops, logging or the creation of industrial areas, uncontrolled and poaching, illegal trafficking in species, the introduction of invasive species, etc. On the contrary, the human being decided that certain species of ungulates would be of interest to him, such as domestic ungulates or game ungulates. These animals, without a natural predator, increase fragmentation in ecosystems and create an imbalance in biodiversity.
Recently, the population of some animals that were tragically threatened has started to increase, thanks to international conservation work, pressure from different governments and general awareness. This is the case of the black rhinoceros, the white rhinoceros, the Indian rhinoceros, the Przewalski horse, the guanaco and the gazelle.
Now that you know everything about ungulate animals, you might be interested in this other article about endangered animals in the Amazon.
If you want to read more articles similar to Hoofed Animals - Meaning, Characteristics and Examples, we recommend that you enter our Curiosities section of the animal world.