Group of ungulates. From left to right,top to bottom: llama,alpaca,bactrian camel,vicugna. Ungulates are a diverse group of large mammals that includes horses,cattle,pigs,giraffes,camels,deer,and hippopotamuses. Most terrestrial ungulates use the tips of their toes,usually hoofed,to sustain their whole body weight while moving. The term means,roughly,being hoofed or hoofed animal . Ungulates are typically herbivorous (though some species are omnivorous,such as pigs),and many employ specialized gut bacteria to allow them to digest cellulose,as in the ruminants. They inhabit a wide range of habitats,from jungles to plains to rivers. Taken from Johnson's household book of nature,containing full and interesting descriptions of the animal kingdom,based upon the writings of the eminent naturalists,Audubon,Wallace,Brehm,Wood and others edited by Hugh Craig,published 1880 |