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Pecora
Pecora is an Order (biology), infraorder of Artiodactyla, even-toed hoofed mammals with ruminant digestion. Most members of Pecora have cranial appendages projecting from their frontal bones; only two extant genera lack them, ''Hydropotes'' and ''Musk Deer, Moschus''. The name "Pecora" comes from the Latin word , which means "cattle".Bubenik, A. Epigenetical, Morphological, Physiological, and Behavioral Aspects of Evolution of Horns, Pronghorns, and Antlers. in ''Horns, Pronghorns, and Antlers''. G. Bubenik and A. Bubenik eds. Springer-Verlag. New York. 1990 Although most pecorans have cranial appendages, only some of these are properly called "horns", and many scientists agree that these appendages did not arise from a common ancestor, but instead evolved independently on at least two occasions.Janis, C., K. Scott. The Interrelationships of Higher Ruminant Families with Special Emphasis on the Members of the Cervoidea. ''American Museum Novitates''. 2893: 1-85. 1987. http://digit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giraffidae
The Giraffidae are a family (biology), family of ruminant artiodactyl mammals that share a recent common ancestor with deer and bovids. This family, once a diverse group spread throughout Eurasia and Africa, presently comprises only two extant genera, the giraffe (between one and eight, usually four, species of ''Giraffa'', depending on taxonomic interpretation) and the okapi (the only known species of ''Okapia''). Both are confined to sub-Saharan Africa: the giraffe to the open savannas, and the okapi to the dense rainforest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo. The two genera look very different on first sight, but share a number of common features, including a long, dark-coloured tongue, lobed canine teeth, and horns covered in skin, called ossicones. Taxonomy Evolutionary background The giraffids are ruminants of the clade Pecora. Other extant pecorans are the families Antilocapridae (pronghorns), Cervidae (deer), Moschidae (musk deer), and Bovidae (Bovini, cattl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moschidae
Moschidae is a family of pecoran even-toed ungulates, containing the musk deer (''Moschus'') and its extinct relatives. They are characterized by long "saber teeth" instead of horns, antlers or ossicones, modest size (''Moschus'' only reaches ; other taxa were even smaller) and a lack of facial glands. While various Oligocene and Miocene pecorans were previously assigned to this family, recent studies find that most should be assigned to their own clades, although further research would need to confirm these traits. As a result, '' Micromeryx'', '' Hispanomeryx'', and ''Moschus'' are the only undisputed moschid members, making them known from at least 18 Ma. The group was abundant across Eurasia and North America during the Miocene, but afterwards declined to only the extant genus ''Moschus'' by the early Pleistocene. Taxonomy and classification Until the early 21st century, it was believed that the musk deer (family Moschidae) were an adjacent, sister-group to the "true deer" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antilocapridae
The Antilocapridae are a family of ruminant artiodactyls endemic to North America. Their closest extant relatives are the giraffids. Only one species, the pronghorn (''Antilocapra americana''), is living today; all other members of the family are extinct. The living pronghorn is a small ruminant mammal resembling an antelope. Description In most respects, antilocaprids resemble other ruminants. They have a complex, four-chambered stomach for digesting tough plant matter, cloven hooves, and small, forked horns. Their horns resemble those of the bovids, in that they have a true horny sheath, but, uniquely, they are shed outside the breeding season, and subsequently regrown. Their lateral toes are even further diminished than in bovids, with the digits themselves being entirely lost, and only the cannon bones remaining. Antilocaprids have the same dental formula as most other ruminants: . Classification The antilocaprids are ruminants of the clade Pecora. Other extant pecor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dromomerycidae
Dromomerycidae is an extinct family of Neogene ruminants belonging to the infraorder Pecora. Dromomerycids, known by two subfamilies, were endemic to North America from the later early Miocene up to the early Pliocene (~5 Ma), leaving no descendants. Dromomerycidae has a long history of uncertain taxonomic affiliations due to its superficial resemblances with the Eurasian Neogene Palaeomerycidae and were traditionally classified as subfamilies within the family. However, recent research differentiates the dromomerycids from the Giraffomorpha ( Giraffoidea and Palaeomerycoidea) by the lack of sutures on the skull roof that typically make up the ossicones of the later clade. The similar resemblances of the appendages therefore could be the result of parallel evolution Parallel evolution is the similar development of a trait in distinct species that are not closely related, but share a similar original trait in response to similar evolutionary pressure.Zhang, J. and Kumar, S. 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bovoidea
Bovoidea is a superfamily of pecoran ruminants containing the Bovidae and Moschidae Moschidae is a family of pecoran even-toed ungulates, containing the musk deer (''Moschus'') and its extinct relatives. They are characterized by long "saber teeth" instead of horns, antlers or ossicones, modest size (''Moschus'' only reaches .... The Bovoidea today is defined in part by very specific dental and anatomical traits, and genetic research indicates that the Moschidae is the sister taxon to the Bovidae. References Extant Miocene first appearances Mammal superfamilies {{paleo-eventoedungulate-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bovidae
The Bovidae comprise the family (biology), biological family of cloven-hoofed, ruminant mammals that includes Bos, cattle, bison, Bubalina, buffalo, antelopes (including Caprinae, goat-antelopes), Ovis, sheep and Capra (genus), goats. A member of this family is called a bovid. With 143 Extant taxon, extant species and 300 known Extinction, extinct species, the family Bovidae consists of 11 (or two) major subfamilies and thirteen major tribes. The family evolved 20 million years ago, in the early Miocene. The bovids show great variation in size and Fur, pelage colouration. Except some Polled livestock, domesticated forms, all male bovids have two or more horn (anatomy), horns, and in many species, females possess horns, too. The size and shape of the horns vary greatly, but the basic structure is always one or more pairs of simple bony protrusions without branches, often having a spiral, twisted or fluted form, each covered in a permanent sheath of keratin. Most bovids bear 30 to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giraffomorpha
Giraffomorpha is a clade of pecoran ruminants containing the superfamilies Palaeomerycoidea (Palaeomerycidae) and Giraffoidea (Giraffidae, Prolibytheriidae and Climacoceratidae), of which the giraffe and okapi of the Giraffidae are the only extant members of the once-diverse clade as a result of a decline in diversity after the Miocene as a result of declines in temperatures. The clade is defined by the presence of ossicones, suggesting that the feature was developed as a result of basal, related evolutions between the two superfamilies rather than as an instance of parallel evolution. Giraffomorpha is also characterized by a lack of articular fossettes (hollows) in metatarsal bones III-IV. The position of the giraffomorphs '' Propalaeoryx'' of the Miocene of Africa and the insular '' Sardomeryx'' of the Miocene of Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palaeomerycidae
The Palaeomerycidae is an extinct family of Neogene ruminants belonging to the infraorder Pecora. Palaeomerycids lived in Europe and Asia exclusively during the Miocene, coevolving with cervids, bovids, moschids, and tragulids there as part of a dramatic radiation of ruminants by the early Miocene. Dromomerycids are sometimes considered to be subfamilies of the Palaeomerycidae, but recent research brought doubt to this, arguing that the dromomerycids lack the sutures on the skull roof that giraffomorphs (Giraffidae, Palaeomerycidae, Climacoceratidae) have for ossicone features. The similar resemblances of the two families could be the result of parallel evolution. Description Palaeomerycids were a group of horned, long-legged and massive ruminants that could attain a weight of . One of the first known members of this group, '' Palaeomeryx'', was thought to be a hornless form distantly related to the Giraffidae before paleontologist Miguel Crusafont found remains of '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Eocene
In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age (geology), age or lowest stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by the Eocene Lutetian Age. The Ypresian is consistent with the Lower Eocene (Early Eocene). Events The Ypresian Age begins during the throes of the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). The Fur Formation in Denmark, the Messel shales in Germany, the Oise amber of France and Cambay amber of India are of this age. The Eocene Okanagan Highlands are an uplands subtropical to temperate series of lakes from the Ypresian. The Ypresian is additionally marked by another warming event called the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). The EECO is the longest sustained warming event in the Cenozoic record, lasting about 2–3 million years between 53 and 50 Ma. The interval is characterized by low oxygen-18 isotopes, high levels of atmospheric pCO2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Omnivorous
An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutrients and energy of the sources absorbed. Often, they have the ability to incorporate food sources such as algae, fungi, and bacteria into their diet. Omnivores come from diverse backgrounds that often independently evolved sophisticated consumption capabilities. For instance, dogs evolved from primarily carnivorous organisms ( Carnivora) while pigs evolved from primarily herbivorous organisms (Artiodactyla). Despite this, physical characteristics such as tooth morphology may be reliable indicators of diet in mammals, with such morphological adaptation having been observed in bears. The variety of different animals that are classified as omnivores can be placed into further sub-categories depending on their feeding behaviors. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruminantia
Ruminants are herbivorous grazing or browsing artiodactyls belonging to the suborder Ruminantia that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by Enteric fermentation, fermenting it in a specialized stomach prior to digestion, principally through microbial actions. The process, which takes place in the front part of the digestive system and therefore is called foregut fermentation, typically requires the fermented ingesta (known as cud) to be regurgitated and chewed again. The process of rechewing the cud to further break down plant matter and stimulate digestion is called rumination. The word "ruminant" comes from the Latin ''ruminare'', which means "to chew over again". The roughly 200 species of ruminants include both domestic and wild species. Ruminating mammals include cattle, all domesticated and wild bovines, goats, sheep, giraffes, deer, gazelles, and antelopes.Fowler, M.E. (2010).Medicine and Surgery of Camelids, Ames, Iowa: Wiley-Blackwell. Chapter 1 General B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sister Taxon
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and taxon B are sister groups to each other. Taxa A and B, together with any other extant or extinct descendants of their most recent common ancestor (MRCA), form a monophyletic group, the clade AB. Clade AB and taxon C are also sister groups. Taxa A, B, and C, together with all other descendants of their MRCA form the clade ABC. The whole clade ABC is itself a subtree of a larger tree which offers yet more sister group relationships, both among the leaves and among larger, more deeply rooted clades. The tree structure shown connects through its root to the rest of the universal tree of life. In cladistic standards, taxa A, B, and C may represent specimens, species, genera, or any other taxonomic units. If A and B are at the same taxonomic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
