"Ruminants" are mammals that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by fermenting it in a specialized stomach prior to digestion, principally through bacterial actions. The process typically requires the fermented ingesta to be regurgitated and chewed again. The process of rechewing the cud to further break down plant matter and stimulate digestion is called "rumination". The word "ruminant" comes from the Latin "ruminare", which means "to chew over again". There are about 150 species of ruminants, which include both domestic and wild species. Ruminating mammals include cattle, goats, sheep, giraffes, yaks, deer, antelope, and some macropods. Taxonomically, the suborder "Ruminantia" is a lineage of herbivorous artiodactylas that includes the most advanced and widespread of the world's ungulates. The term 'ruminant' is not synonymous with Ruminantia. Suborder Ruminantia includes many ruminant species, but does not include tylopods and marsupials. The primary difference between a ruminant and non-ruminant is that ruminants have a four-compartment stomach. The four parts of the stomach are the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. In the first two chambers, the rumen and the reticulum, the food is mixed with saliva and separates into layers of solid and liquid material. Solids clump together to form the cud or bolus. The cud is then regurgitated and chewed to completely mix it with saliva and to break down the particle size. Fiber, especially cellulose and hemi-cellulose, is primarily broken down in these chambers by microbes into the three volatile fatty acids : acetic acid, propionic acid and butyric acid. Protein and non-structural carbohydrate are also fermented. Wiz Science™ is "the" learning channel for children and all ages. SUBSCRIBE TODAY Disclaimer: This video is for your information only. The author or publisher does not guarantee the accuracy of the content presented in this video. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Background Music: "The Place Inside" by Silent Partner (royalty-free) from YouTube Audio Library. This video uses material/images from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruminant, which is released under Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ . This video is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ . To reuse/adapt the content in your own work, you must comply with the license terms.

• published: 04 Sep 2015
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