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The order Artiodactyla consists of 349 extant species belonging to 132 genera. This does not include hybrid species or extinct prehistoric species. Modern molecular studies indicate that the 132 genera can be grouped into 23 families; these families are grouped into named suborders and many are further grouped into named clades, and some of these families are subdivided into named subfamilies.
It is a species-poor artiodactyl suborder of North American origin [27] that is well adapted to extreme habitats—the dromedary and Bactrian camels in the Old World deserts and the guanacos, llamas, vicuñas, and alpacas in South American high mountain regions. The pig-like creatures are made up of two families:
The name Whippomorpha is a combination of English (wh[ale] + hippo[potamus]) and Greek (μορφή, morphē = form). [2]Some attempts have been made to rename the suborder Cetancodonta, due to the misleading utilization of the suffix -morpha for a crown group, [6] as well as the risk of confusion with the clade Hippomorpha (which consists of equid perissodactyls); [7] however Whippomorpha ...
A diagnostic feature often used by field scientists to distinguish Rice's whales from whales other than the Bryde's whale is the three prominent ridges that line the top of its head. The species can be distinguished from the Bryde's whale by the shape of the nasal bones , which have wider gaps due to a unique wrapping by the frontal bones , its ...
Sperm whales have the largest brain mass of any animal on Earth, averaging 8,000 cm 3 (490 in 3) and 7.8 kg (17 lb) in mature males. [24] The brain to body mass ratio in some odontocetes, such as belugas and narwhals, is second only to humans. [25] In some whales, however, it is less than half that of humans: 0.9% versus 2.1%. [citation needed]
Whales are fully aquatic, open-ocean animals: they can feed, mate, give birth, suckle and raise their young at sea. Whales range in size from the 2.6 metres (8.5 ft) and 135 kilograms (298 lb) dwarf sperm whale to the 29.9 metres (98 ft) and 190 tonnes (210 short tons) blue whale, which is the
Dorudon ("spear-tooth") is a genus of extinct basilosaurid ancient whales that lived alongside Basilosaurus 41.03 to 33.9 million years ago in the Eocene.It was a small whale, with D. atrox measuring 5 metres (16 ft) long and weighing 1–2.2 metric tons (1.1–2.4 short tons).
Toothed whales, as well as baleen whales, are descendants of land-dwelling mammals of the artiodactyl order (even-toed ungulates). They are closely related to the hippopotamus , sharing a common ancestor that lived around 54 million years ago (mya). [ 6 ]