Ruminantia

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Ruminantia
\nWhite-tailed Deer
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n : Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Artiodactyla : Ruminantia
Families
\n Tragulidae \n Moschidae \n Cervidae \n Giraffidae \n Antilocapridae \n Bovidae\n

\nThe biological suborder Ruminantia includes many of the well-known large grazing or browsing mammals: among them cattle, goats, sheep, deer, and antelope. All members of the Ruminantia are ruminants: they digest food in two steps, chewing and swallowing in the normal way to begin with, and then regurgitating the semi-digested cud to re-chew it and thus extract the maximum possible food value. Note that not all ruminants belong to the Ruminantia. Camels and llamas are an obvious exception, and there are a number of other large grazing mammals that, while not strictly ruminants, have similar adaptations for surviving on large quantities of low-grade food. Kangaroos and horses are examples.

• ORDER ARTIODACTYLA\n** Suborder Suina: pigs, hippos and peccaries\n** Suborder Tylopoda: camels and llamas\n** Suborder Ruminantia\n*** Family Tragulidae: chevrotains\n*** Family Moschidae: musk deer\n*** Family Cervidae: deer\n*** Family Giraffidae: Giraffe and Okapi\n*** Family Antilocapridae: Pronghorn\n*** Family Bovidae: cattle, goats, sheep, and antelope