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While writing about elk, I wanted to use the word ungulate so I looked up how to spell it. I learned more than I bargained for … and ultimately didn’t use the word.
Ungulates are mammals with hooves, right? Well, some are obvious, some are not. Here’s a quiz to test your knowledge.
Which of these animals are ungulates?
A. Deer (photo above):
B. Horse:
C. Llama
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D. Leopard:
E. Hippopotamus:
F. Porpoise:
Leave a comment with your answer.
If you’re stumped, I’ll post the answer in the comments later.
Can’t wait for the answer? Click here. No cheating!
p.s. See the comments for an explanation about the oddest ungulates.
(All photos from Wikimedia Commons. Click the image to see the original.)
Well deer and porpoise are the first two I recognize. When I learned the word, it was favorite trivia that whales were ungulates. The leopard seems to me like it doesn’t belong, but something in me wants to think you picked all ungulates.
OK I had to look and was very surprised!
Everything but the leopard is an ungulate.
J is right. All but the leopard are ungulates. The big surprise is that porpoises and whales are ungulates. They’re related to hippos. Who knew?
Well I peeked and I too was surprised. Learn something new every day! Thanks for my lesson of the day…
Just curious — where is the porpoise’s or whale’s hoof?
Libby, glad you asked that question. PBS NATURE to the rescue! Here’s a link to the long reason:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/ocean-giants/going-aquatic-cetacean-evolution/7577/
The short answer is that their flippers are modified limbs and those limbs have the same distinguishing characteristics found among Artiodcatyls — the “even-toed” subgroup of ungulates.
The fact that whales and porpoises are related to hippos is a very cool twist of evolution. People sometimes jokingly compress evolution into the statement, “The fish walked.” In the case of whales and porpoises, their land-based ancestors went backwards. They walked into the water to eat … and eventually stayed there.