Artiodactyls, classified in the order Artiodactyla, are even-toed ungulate mammals characterized by bearing weight primarily on the third and fourth digits of each limb, which are usually of similar size and aligned symmetrically. This order includes diverse families such as Bovidae (cattle, antelopes, goats), Cervidae (deer), Suidae (pigs), and Hippopotamidae (hippopotamuses), and, in many modern treatments, is combined with Cetacea in the clade Cetartiodactyla based on molecular and morphological evidence. Artiodactyls exhibit a wide range of digestive specializations, notably ruminant foregut fermentation in many lineages, and occupy varied terrestrial and semi-aquatic ecological niches.
Whether it's digging up weathered bones from a paleontological site or reexamining forgotten trays in museum and university collections, the study of dinosaurs still throws up something new.
A team of scientists from EPFL and Alaska Pacific University has developed an AI program that can recognize individual bears in the wild, despite the substantial changes that occur in their appearance over the summer season. ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 29, 2026
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In the drylands of Benin, West Africa, livestock farming is under growing pressure. These vast, hot landscapes cover roughly 70% of the country's land area. Their sparse pastures and scattered trees sustain around six million ...
Ecology
Jan 28, 2026
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A recent review of over 312 studies has identified dozens of unique uses of roadkill in scientific research. The review, published in Biology Letters, discusses the advantages of using roadkill instead of live wildlife and ...
Within the next few decades, intensifying heat waves could expose a significant share of Europe's cattle to dangerous levels of heat stress. New research maps where and how millions of animals may be affected by mid-century.
Agriculture
Jan 27, 2026
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A study of wild African herbivores offers new insight into how environmental conditions—not just diet and anatomy—can influence the evolution of gut microbes that play a critical role in animal health and well-being.
Evolution
Jan 26, 2026
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26
A vaccine developed to tackle Streptococcus suis, an economically damaging disease endemic in the global pig population, has outperformed a leading commercially available vaccine in a challenge trial. The trial showed the ...
Veterinary medicine
Jan 23, 2026
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A new study combines drone data, satellite observations, and ground-based flux measurements to examine methane emissions from ruminants in Kenya. The research represents a pioneering effort to quantify methane (CH₄) emissions ...
Biotechnology
Jan 22, 2026
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In the Kenyan savanna, lions and livestock essentially live in shifts: Cattle graze during the day and are enclosed at night when lions are active.
Plants & Animals
Jan 21, 2026
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For decades, researchers have focused on the problem of overgrazing, in which expanding herds of cattle and other livestock degrade grasslands, steppes and desert plains. But a new global study reveals that in large regions ...
Ecology
Jan 12, 2026
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