Ruminantia

The Ruminantia or ruminants is most of the Artiodactyla including sheep, goats, camels, and a few other forms. They have complex stomachs and ruminate their food.

Ruminantia Temporal range: Late Eocene? to Recent
White-tailed deer
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Cetartiodactyla
Suborder:	Ruminantia Scopoli, 1777
Families
Tragulidae  Moschidae  Cervidae  Giraffidae  Antilocapridae  Bovidae  †Climacoceratidae

What this means is that they can move food from one stomach to another and back again. This allows them to digest a wider range of food.

Classifiation

• Order Artiodactyla
  • Suborder Suina: pigs and peccaries
  • Suborder Tylopoda: camels and llamas
  • Suborder Whippomorpha: whales and hippopotamus
  • Suborder Ruminantia
    • Family †Amphimerycidae
    • Infraorder Tragulina (paraphyletic)
      • Family †Prodremotheriidae
      • Family †Hypertragulidae
      • Family †Praetragulidae
      • Family Tragulidae: chevrotains, 6 living species in 4 genera
      • Family †Leptomerycidae
      • Family †Archaeomerycidae
      • Family †Lophiomerycidae
    • Infraorder Pecora
      • Family †Climacoceratidae
      • Family Moschidae: musk deer, 4 living species in one genus
      • Family Cervidae: deer, 49 living species in 16 genera
      • Family Giraffidae: giraffe and okapi, 2 living species in 2 genera
      • Family Antilocapridae: pronghorn, one living species in one genus
      • Family Bovidae: cattle, goats, sheep, and antelope, 135 living species in 48 genera.

Related pages

• Cetartiodactyla