. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. Zbc Clovcn*Dootcb Hnimale. ELEVENTH ORDER: SPECIALLY comprehensive is the order of the Artio- dactyla or Cloven-hoofed Animals, which includes all hoofed animals which have only two fully developed toes on each foot, or in which these two at least greatly exceed the three other toes in size. The third and fourth toes, cor- responding to the middle and ring-finger in the hu- man hand, are the digits which are especially large and are of equal develop- ment one with the other, while the others are more or less stunted
. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. Zbc Clovcn*Dootcb Hnimale. ELEVENTH ORDER: SPECIALLY comprehensive is the order of the Artio- dactyla or Cloven-hoofed Animals, which includes all hoofed animals which have only two fully developed toes on each foot, or in which these two at least greatly exceed the three other toes in size. The third and fourth toes, cor- responding to the middle and ring-finger in the hu- man hand, are the digits which are especially large and are of equal develop- ment one with the other, while the others are more or less stunted or merely rudimentary. The first toe, corresponding to the human thumb, is entirely want- ing in all Artiodactyla. The bony skeleton is re- markable for the great uniformity existing among all the species in the number of dorsal and lumbar vertebrae which together always amount to nineteen, except in the case of some domestic breeds, and by the absence of the clavicle or collar-bone. If we add further, that the molar teeth or " grinders " sel- dom exhibit internal convolutions of enamel, but have a filling of dental pulp alone, we will have enu- merated all the common peculiar features in the bony structure of the Artiodactyla, not taking into consideration resultant peculiarities of development. In regard to their mode of life all Artiodactyla re- semble each other in that the majority of them are exclusively herbivorous, while the remainder are, to say the least, chiefly vegetable feeders. In all other regards the order shows widely different forms, cor- responding to its abundance of species. The Artiodactyla are not indigenous to New Zea- land and the continent of Australia, but are natives of all other countries in which terrestrial mammalia are to be found. Prehistoric fossil Artiodactyla are first met with in Tertiary geological formations and of some families there are many fossil genera nearly related to existing forms. The abundance and variety of species of
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectmammals, bookyear1895
