artiodactyl

An artiodactyl is a hoofed mammal of the order Artiodactyla, known as the even-toed ungulates. They carry most body weight on the third and fourth toes of each foot, with other toes reduced or absent. This arrangement distinguishes them from the odd-toed ungulates of Perissodactyla.

Artiodactyla includes domestic species such as cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and camels, and wild ungulates such as deer, antelope, giraffes, and hippos. In many classifications, whales and dolphins are placed with artiodactyls in the clade Cetartiodactyla, reflecting close evolutionary ties; hippos are the closest living relatives of cetaceans within this group.

Many artiodactyls are herbivores; several lineages are ruminants with a four-chambered stomach that ferments plant material. Pigs and some others are omnivorous. Dental and horn configurations vary by lineage: bovids typically have persisting horns, while cervids shed their antlers seasonally.

Artiodactyls have a long fossil record and occupy diverse habitats. They are economically important to humans for meat, milk, leather, and draft power, but face conservation challenges from habitat loss, hunting, and disease.