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.
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
0
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
0
21
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
0
20
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
1
140
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
0
285
What if you could look into a cow's face and know whether it had a fever? A new tool from the Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision Lab at the University of Arkansas uses artificial intelligence and thermal cameras ...
Biotechnology
Jan 7, 2026
0
36
A new study, published in the journal Science, reveals how millennia of human migration across Pacific islands led to the introduction of invasive pig species all over the Asia-Pacific region.
Ecology
Jan 1, 2026
0
80
From their cozy homes in suburban Burlington, children curiously watch their new neighbors through windows and brainstorm nicknames.
Plants & Animals
Dec 29, 2025
1
824
During mating season, when male white-tailed deer want to get noticed by the opposite sex and warn off rivals, they rub their antlers against trees and scrape the forest floor. Then they pee on these patches. But there is ...
Seals give birth only when conditions are right. After mating, a female seal can delay implantation of the embryo in the uterine wall—pausing pregnancy until she senses that her fat reserves are aligned with the season. This ...
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 22, 2025
0
22
