Orders Artiodactyla, Lagomorpha, and Perissodactyla

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Orders Artiodactyla, Lagomorpha, and
Perissodactyla

• Lab 8 - Grazers

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Order Artiodactyla Even-toed ungulates

• Family Antilocapridae
• Antilocapra
• Family Bovidae
• Ammotragus
• Bos
• Capra
• Ovis
• Family Cervidae
• Alces
• Cervus
• Odocoileus
• Family Tayassuidae
• Pecari
• Family Suidae
• Sus

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Antilocapra americana

• Pronghorn antelope
• Dental formula 0/3 0/1 3/3 3/3 32
• Habitat pen grasslands and cool deserts
• Food grasses and hay
• Reproduction bred in autumn, gestate 250 days,
  and have two young in spring.
• Trivia pronghorn is actually a bony core and a
  keratinized sheath. Only native fast running
  Artiodactyla in North America, and helped to
  drive the evolution of the Cheetah.

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Ammotragus lervia

• Barbary Sheep or Aoudad
• Dental formula 0/3 0/1 3/3 3/3 32
• Habitat Middle East and Asia. Introduced to
  TTexas, New Mexico, and Spain
• Food grasses, forbs, and shrubs
• Reproduction Mate in Spet-Nov, gestate 160 days
  and have 1-2 young in Feb-Apr.
• Trivia May be capable of living on metabolic
  water, thus surviving without surface water for
  long periods of time.

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Bos bison

• Buffalo
• Dental formula 0/3 0/1 3/3 3/3 32
• Habitat open grasslands and pasture lands, of
  North American Great Plains
• Food grasses and hay
• Reproduction form harems of 10-70 cows with
  mating occurring in July, gestate 270-285, and
  have one calf in May.
• Trivia graze with tongue, thus grass is left
  longer and healthier, effectively wiped out by US
  government in attempt to control the Indian
  problem of 19th century.

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Bos taurus

• Cow
• Dental formula 0/3 0/1 3/3 3/3 32
• Habitat grassland and open pasture lands, can
  survive in fragmented forest
• Food grass and hay, also commercial fed (cubes)
• Reproduction Mate in June-July, gestate around
  275 days, and have one calf in late spring-early
  summer.
• Trivia graze with lips, cropping graze lower to
  ground and resulting in more grazing damage.
  Ranching productivity measured in units required
  to maintain one cow per month

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Capra hircus

• Wild or Domestic Goat
• Dental formula 0/3 0/1 2/3 3/3 30
• Habitat Originally from the rocky areas of
  Europe, Southern Asia, and northern Africa, now
  worldwide
• Food Grazing/browsing behavior, eating grass,
  hay, twigs, buds, and bark.
• Reproduction Mate in winter, gestate about
  150-175 days, and have 1-2 kids each year.
• Trivia The true goats, they are excellent
  climbers, and commonly found feeding on the tops
  of trees. These animals can cause a great deal
  of damage to the area if penned in or
  overpopulated, resulting in overgrazing.

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Ovis aries

• Domestic sheep
• Dental formula 0/3 0/1 2/3 3/3 30
• Habitat Open terrain and pasture grasslands
• Food grasses and hay, as well as commercial
  feeds
• Reproduction Lamb every 8 to 9 months, having
  1-3 lambs per birth
• Trivia tend to herd well, and will be defensive
  in presense of canids and felines. Also have a
  strong resistance to internal parasites. Coat
  can be trimmed for wool, as well as the meat
  source.

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Ovis canadensis

• Bighorn sheep
• Dental formula 0/3 0/1 2/3 3/3 30
• Habitat rouged mountain ranges from Brit. Col
  and Alberta Canada south to Coahuila, Chihuahua,
  Sonora Mexico.
• Food Deer brush, sotol, and ocotillo.
• Reproduction Breed in Nov, gestate about 180
  days, and have young in mid May to June.
  Generally one one young, although twins are
  known.
• Trivia Once widespread, this animal has been
  largely re-introduced in the Trans Pecos.

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Key to Horned Grazers

• A. amer horns composed of permanent, erect,
  boney cores covered by a deciduous sheath, two
  lacrymal formina on anterior orbital rim.
• A. ler distinct ventral mane, horns curve
  outward, backward, and then inward with
  transverse wrinkles.
• B. bis one lacrymal forman on anterior orbital
  rim, frontals expand laterally behind orbits,
  premaxillae in contact with nasals.
• B. taur one lacrymal forman on anterior orbital
  rim, frontals not expanded behind orbits,
  premaxillae not in contact with nasals.
• C. hir one lacrymal forman on anterior orbital
  rim, rounded back of skull, premaxillae in broad
  contact with nasals.
• O. ari - one lacrymal forman on anterior orbital
  rim, rounded back of skull, premaxillae not
  reaching or bearly touching nasals.
• O. can Large white rump patch, skull as above
  except nasals longer than 105 in males, 85 in
  females.

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Alces alces

• Moose
• Dental formula 0/3 0/1 3/3 3/3 32
• Habitat circumpolar distribution in wooded areas
  near water
• Food poplar, willow, emergent and submergent
  vegetation in ponds
• Reproduction Mate in autumn, gestate 220-260
  days and have 1-2 young per year.
• Trivia The largest member of the Family
  Cervidae, moose weigh in about 800 kg (1760 lbs).

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Cervus elaphus

• Elk, Wapiti
• Dental formula 0/3 1/ 3/3 3/3 34
• Habitat Original covered southern Canada ad most
  of the United States, extirpated and reintroduced
  in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Florida in the
  Eastern US, and various states out west like the
  Rocky Mountains. Prefer forested mountain
  terrain
• Food Grazers of grasses, sedges, and forbs in
  spring and summer, and browsers of woody twigs,
  buds, and ark in winter
• Reproduction Males run harems of 20 females,
  although only 4 or 5 young a born each year.
  Females mate in September and October, gestate
  249-262 days, and have 1 calf in May or June.
• Trivia A popular game animal due to its large
  size, it was extirpated from the eastern US by
  1850. Its large antlers are used for ritualized
  mating sparring (pushing), but not for true
  violence. An enraged elk will actually rear up
  on its hind legs and flail with its forelegs, to
  a devastating result.

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Odocoileus hemionus

• Mule deer
• Dental formula 0/3 0/1 3/3 3/3 32
• Habitat Southern Yukon and Manitoba south to
  northern Mexico across the shortgrass prairies
  and rangelands of central and western US.
• Food browsers, eating limbs, bark, and buds from
  a variety of trees and shrubs
• Reproduction Mate in fall, gestate 200 days, and
  have 1-3 fawns in spring.
• Trivia Tail has a black stripe on dorsal surface
  and antler tines branch from TWO main beams

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Odocoileus virginiana

• White-tailed deer
• Dental formula 0/3 0/1 3/3 3/3 32
• Habitat Southern Canada, thru US and Mexico,
  into northern South America in wooded and grassy
  areas
• Food browsers, eating limbs, bark, and buds from
  a variety of trees and shrubs
• Reproduction Mate in fall, gestate 200 days, and
  have 1-3 fawns in spring.
• Trivia Tail is white on dorsal surface and
  antler tines branch from ONE main beam.

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Key to the Cevids

• Skull
• A. alc Nasals short compared to rostrum,
  premaxillae elongate
• C. ela Nasals proportional to rostrum, vomer
  does not divide internal nares from the inferior
  skull
• O. hem Nasals proportional to rostrum, vomer
  does divide internal nares from the inferior
  skull, antlers branch from two main beams
• O. vir - Nasals proportional to rostrum, vomer
  does divide internal nares from the inferior
  skull, antlers branch from one main beam

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Pecari tajacu

• Javelina, Collared peccary
• Dental formula 2/3 1/1 3/3 3/3 38
• Habitat arid regions of the southwestern US and
  south into northern Argentina
• Food tubers, roots, leaves, invertebrates,
  vertebrates, and bird eggs. Prefers prickly pear
  cactus pads, spines and all.
• Reproduction form groups of 5-25 animals, with
  females gestating 110 days to produce a single
  litter a year of 2-4 young.
• Trivia upper canines point downwards. Will root
  about like pigs, and can be dangerous when
  startled. Also possess strong musk glands in the
  hind shanks that smell quite foul if ejected or
  ruptured.

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Sus scrufa

• Wild boar, pig
• Dental formula 3/3 1/1 4/4 3/3 44
• Habitat Occurred across Europe and Asia, now
  worldwide. Like brushy areas and woods
• Food roots, fungi, tubers, vegetation, insects,
  carrion, and vertebrates
• Reproduction Social, forming herds of 20
  animals that gestate about 100-140 days, having
  2-14 piglets per litter once a year.
• Trivia Use smell to locate food, rooting about.
  Can damage large tracks of land by searching for
  food. Current efforts in Texas to control wild
  pigs have included capturing and selling the meat
  to Europe as Russian wild boar. Upper canines
  curve outward and upwards.

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Key to Pig-like Grazers

• P. taj Canines triangular in cross-section,
  incisors 2/3, canines nearly straight
• S. scr Canines triangular in cross-section,
  incisors 3/3, upper canines curve outward and
  upward

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Order Lagomorpha Rabbits, hares, and pikas

• Family Lepoidae
• Lepus
• Sylvilagus
• NOTE Lepus (hares) have no nest, the young are
  born on the ground with hair and have their eyes
  open at birth. Also moving about in a few hours
  (Precocial). Hares also tend to have larger
  bodies and longer ears than rabbits
• On the other hand, Sylvilagus (rabbits) are
  hairless at birth, have their eyes closed, and
  remain in the nest fo a while. (Altricial)
• Family Ochotonidae
• Ochotona

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Lepus californicus

• Black-tailed jackrabbit
• Dental formula 2/1 0/0 3/2 3/3 28
• Habitat prairies, pastures, and meadows
  throughout northern Mexico and the southwestern
  United States
• Food fresh vegetation during summer, dry herbs
  and shrubs in winter
• Reproduction produce 1-4 litters of 1-8 young
  each per year following a 41-47 day gestation
  each time
• Trivia primarily nocturnal, these rabbits are
  swift runners (30-35 mph) and excellent jumpers,
  moving in jumps 5-10 feet long, with periodic
  high hops of 20 feet long.

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Sylvilagus aquaticus

• Swamp rabbit
• Dental formula 2/1 0/0 3/2 3/3 28
• Habitat bottomlands, swamps, and canebreaks
  throughout the southcentral United States
• Food green and young woody plants like cane,
  sedges, grasses, tree seedlings, and greenbriar
• Reproduction 2-5 litters a year with 1-6 young
  per litter after 36 days gestation
• Trivia Highly mobile swimmers, with only their
  nose and ears visible above water. They also
  have a curious habit of defecating on fallen
  logs, believed to be used while watching for
  predators.

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Sylvilagus audubonii

• Desert cottontail
• Dental formula 2/1 0/0 3/2 3/3 28
• Habitat upland habitat from Puebla and Veracruz,
  Mexico north to Montana and N. Dakota
• Food variety of greens, like grasses, mesquite,
  and prickly pear cactus.
• Reproduction 2-5 litters a year with 1-6 young
  per litter after 26-27 days gestation
• Trivia Unlike most cottontails, these will climb
  sloping trees and thick brambles for food and
  cover.

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Sylvilagus floridanus

• Eastern cottontail rabbit
• Dental formula 2/1 0/0 3/2 3/3 28
• Habitat brushy area, old fields, and woods
  throughout much of the north America
• Food Green vegetation, buds, and twigs, also
  coprophagy
• Reproduction 3-7 litters per year with 3-6 young
  per litter after 28 day gestation period
• Trivia most prolific species of lagomorph in
  North America, even mating during the year of
  their birth.

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Ochotona princeps

• Pika
• Dental formula 2/1 0/0 3/2 2/3 26
• Habitat rocky banks and steep hillsides across
  the mountainous regions of the western half of
  North America
• Food eat many green plants, such as grasses,
  sedges, fireweed, stonecrop, and thistles
• Reproduction can produce two litters a year,
  with 2-6 blind and naked young born in May-June,
  second litter in born late September
• Trivia commonly lays vegetation out to cure and
  hay, then will store it in winter dens under the
  rocks. Does not hibernate, but eats stored hay
  and lichens. Pikas form communal groups that try
  to protect each other from predators, which they
  have many (weasels and raptures).

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Key to the Lagomorphs

• Skull
• L. amer bony latticework of side of rostrum
  present, supra orbital process broadly triangular
  and winglike, postorbital process extending
  smoothly backwards
• L. cali bony latticework of side of rostrum
  present, supra orbital process broadly triangular
  and winglike, post orbital process extending
  backwards with a rough edge
• S. aqu bony latticework of side of rostrum
  present, supra orbital process narrow and
  straplike, postorbital process fused to skull and
  only a small opening remains, length of skull
  82 mm, hindfoot gt 74..
• S. aud Prominent upturned supraorbital process,
  and inflated tympanic bullae., hindfoot lt 74.
• S. flor bony latticework of side of rostrum
  present, supra orbital process narrow and
  straplike, postorbital process not fused to skull
  and slitlike opening remains, length of skull lt
  82 mm.
• O. prin Supraorbital process absent, lacking
  bony latticework covering the fenestrae on side
  of rostrum

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Order Perissodactyla Odd-toed ungulates

• Family Equidae
• Equus
• Identified by large dentary, 3/3 incisors,
  canines present, and rectangular shaped molars.

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Equus caballus

• Wild horse
• Dental formula 3/3 0-1/0-1 3-4/3 3/3 38-42
• Habitat Occur in Africa, Arabia and the steppes
  of Eurasia, historically in North America. Now
  worldwide in open grasslands
• Food grasses, hay, and other siliceous
  vegetation
• Reproduction Form harems of 10 animals, bred
  mostly in the spring and early summer, gestate
  330-340 days, and have one young around May.
• Trivia Canines present in jacks and stallions,
  but may not be present in mares, geldings, and
  mules.