Odd-toed ungulate - Video Learning - WizScience.com

• published: 17 Aug 2015
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An "odd-toed ungulate" is a mammal with rear hooves consisting of an odd number of toes. Odd-toed ungulates compose the order "Perissodactyla" . The middle toe on each hind hoof is usually larger than its neighbours. Odd-toed ungulates are relatively large grazers and, unlike the ruminant even-toed ungulates , they have relatively simple stomachs because they are hindgut fermenters, digesting plant cellulose in their intestines rather than in one or more stomach chambers. Odd-toed ungulates include horses, tapirs, and rhinoceroses. Although no unequivocal fossils are known prior to the early Eocene, the odd-toed ungulates probably arose in what is now Asia, during the Paleocene-Eocene boundary . By the start of the Eocene, 55 million years ago , they had diversified and spread out to occupy several continents. Horses and tapirs both evolved in North America; rhinoceroses appear to have developed in Asia from tapir-like animals and then colonised the Americas during the middle Eocene . Of the approximately 15 families, only three survive. These families were very diverse in form and size; they included the enormous brontotheres and the bizarre chalicotheres. The largest perissodactyl, an Asian rhinoceros called "Paraceratherium", reached 15 tonne, more than twice the weight of an elephant. Perissodactyls were the dominant group of large terrestrial browsers right through the Oligocene. However, the rise of grasses in the Miocene saw a major change: the even-toed ungulates, which had more complex stomachs, were better able to adapt to coarse, low-nutrition diets, and soon rose to prominence. Nevertheless, many odd-toed species survived and prospered until the late Pleistocene , when they faced the pressure of human hunting and habitat change. 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/Odd-toed+ungulate, 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.