artiodactyl

Introduction
General features
- Abundance and distribution
- Importance to humans
Natural history
- Behaviour
  - Migration
  - Social behaviour
  - Reproduction
  - Locomotion
- Ecology
  - Food habits
  - Areas of distribution
Form and function
- General structure
- Specializations of the head
  - Horns and antlers
  - Teeth
- Limb adaptations for fast running
- Modifications of the skin
- Scent glands
- Digestive system
- Reproductive specializations
Evolution and paleontology
Classification
- Annotated classification
- Critical appraisal

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

A young mountain goat, Oreamnos americanus, stands on rocky terrain in a zoo enclosure with artificial rocks and sparse trees in the background.

Illustration showing seven different male antelope species, including gerenuk, impala, Thomson's gazelle, common eland, saiga, suni, and blackbuck, each labeled with their scientific names and depicted in natural poses on grass.

A Pyrenean or Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica) stands on a rocky mountain ledge with curved horns, overlooking a landscape of hills and valleys under a blue sky.

Quizzes

Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius). Animals, mammals.

Ultimate Animals Quiz

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

Animal Group Names

Deadliest Animals Quiz

Young chimpanzee dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, scratching his head thinking. (primates)

Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz

Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz

Related Questions

How are camel feet adapted for walking on desert sand?
How can herd behavior help artiodactyls avoid predators?
How did artiodactyls become more prominent during the Oligocene Epoch?
How did late Pleistocene extinctions affect large artiodactyls in North America?
How did llamas and alpacas become important domestic animals in South America?
How do artiodactyl herds use older animals during migrations?
How do bovid horns differ from deer antlers?
How do cloven hooves help many artiodactyls run quickly?
How do different grazing species share grasslands without eating exactly the same plants?
How do giraffes use their height to feed differently from other browsing mammals?
How do male deer and antelopes reduce the risk of serious injury when fighting?
How do pigs use their snouts and tusks to find food?
How do ruminants digest tough grasses and other plant foods?
How do saiga antelopes respond to snowstorms and shortages of food?
How do the ankle bones of artiodactyls differ from those of other mammals?
How do wildebeest, zebras, and Thomson’s gazelles use grazing succession on the Serengeti plains?
How does a four-chambered stomach help many ruminants digest plants?
How does paraxonic limb support help distinguish artiodactyls from perissodactyls?
How does the reindeer’s diet change between summer and winter?
How have humans used artiodactyls for food, clothing, transport, and tools?
What are cannon bones in artiodactyl legs?
What does a hippopotamus eat when it leaves the water at night?
What is flehmen behavior in artiodactyl courtship?
What were entelodonts, and where did they live?
When did artiodactyls become distinct from their early mammal ancestors?
Which animals belong to the mammal order Artiodactyla?
Which continent did camelids evolve in before spreading to South America and the Old World?
Which living artiodactyl family contains antelopes, cattle, sheep, and goats?
Which toes bear most of an artiodactyl’s body weight?
Who introduced the scientific taxon Artiodactyla in 1848?
Why are artiodactyls often called even-toed ungulates?
Why can drought and deep snow limit artiodactyl populations?
Why did camelids become extinct in North America after the Pleistocene?
Why do artiodactyls generally have larger stomachs and longer intestines than carnivores?
Why do female reindeer have antlers?
Why do hippopotamuses count as artiodactyls despite having four toes?
Why do kangaroos fill the role of medium and large herbivores in Australia?
Why do many female artiodactyls leave their groups shortly before giving birth?
Why does South America have fewer native artiodactyl groups than Africa?
Why is the pronghorn not a true antelope?

Science Mammals Hoofed Mammals

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External Websites

University of Valencia - The Evolution of the Artiodactyls (PDF)
The Royal Society Publishing - Proceedings of the Royal Society B - Variable social organization is ubiquitous in Artiodactyla and probably evolved from pair-living ancestors
The Canadian Encyclopedia - Artiodactyla
National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - The carotid rete and artiodactyl success
Animal Diversity Web - Artiodactyla
University of California, Berkeley: Museum of Paleontology - Introduction to the Artiodactyla

artiodactyl

mammal

Also known as: Artiodactyla, cloven-hooved mammal, even-toed ungulate(Show More)

Written by

Alan William Gentry

Former Principal Scientific Officer, Department of Palaeontology, Natural History Museum, London. Author of numerous research papers on Old World hoofed mammals.

Alan William Gentry

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 9, 2026 •History

artiodactyl, any member of the mammalian order Artiodactyla, or even-toed ungulates, which includes pigs, peccaries, hippopotamuses, camels, chevrotains, deer, giraffes, pronghorn, antelopes, sheep, goats, and cattle. It is one of the larger mammal orders, containing about 200 species, a total that may be somewhat reduced with continuing revision of their classification. Many artiodactyls are well known to humans, and the order as a whole is of more economic and cultural benefit than any other group...

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