Pecora

Pecora
Temporal range: Eocene - recent
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Suborder: Ruminantia
Infraorder: Pecora
Flower, 1883[1]
Subgroups

Pecora is an infraorder of even-toed hoofed mammals with ruminant digestion. Most members of Pecora have cranial appendages projecting from their frontal bones; only two extant genera lack them, Hydropotes and Moschus.[2] The name "Pecora" comes from the Latin word pecus, which means "cattle".[3] Although most pecorans have cranial appendages, only some of these are properly called "horns", and many scientists agree that these appendages did not arise from a common ancestor, but instead evolved independently on at least two occasions.[2][3][4][5] Likewise, while Pecora as a group is supported by both molecular and morphological studies, morphological support for interrelationships between pecoran families is disputed.[2]

  1. ^ Flower, W. On the Arrangement of the Orders and Families of Existing Mammalia. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 178 -186. 1883.
  2. ^ a b c Hassanin, A.; Douzery, E. (2003). "Molecular and Morphological Phylogenies of Ruminantia and the Alternative Position of the Moschidae". Systematic Biology. 52 (2): 206–228. doi:10.1080/10635150390192726. PMID 12746147.
  3. ^ a b Bubenik, A. Epigenetical, Morphological, Physiological, and Behavioral Aspects of Evolution of Horns, Pronghorns, and Antlers. in Horns, Pronghorns, and Antlers. G. Bubenik and A. Bubenik eds. Springer-Verlag. New York. 1990
  4. ^ Janis, C., K. Scott. The Interrelationships of Higher Ruminant Families with Special Emphasis on the Members of the Cervoidea. American Museum Novitates. 2893: 1-85. 1987. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/handle/2246/5180
  5. ^ Hassanin, A.; Delsuc, F.; Ropiquet, A.; Hammer, C.; Matthee, C.; Ruiz-Garcia, M.; Catzeflis, F.; Areskoug, V.; Nguyen, T. T.; Couloux, A. (2012). "Pattern and Timing of Diversification of Cetartiodactyla (Mammalia, Laurasiatheria), as Revealed by a Comprehensive Analysis of Mitochondrial Genomes". Comptes Rendus Biologies. 335 (1): 32–50. doi:10.1016/j.crvi.2011.11.002. PMID 22226162.

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