Jump to content

Pseudoruminant

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Sminthopsis84 (talk | contribs) at 19:27, 3 May 2015 (reverting vandalism from IP 111.68.99.250). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Pseudoruminant is a classification of animal based on its digestive tract differing from the ruminants. Hippopotamidae (comprising hippopotami) are ungulate mammals with a three-chambered stomach (ruminants have a four-chambered stomach).[1]

Anatomy

Like ruminants, the pseudoruminants use foregut fermentation to break down cellulose in fibrous plant species. But in contrast to these, pseudoruminants have a three-chambered stomach, the chambers being called C1, C2, and C3.

Species

Pseudoruminant Image Class Weight
Hippopotamus Hippopotamus 1.5 to 3.5 tonnes

See also

References

  1. ^ Fowler, M.E. (2010). "Medicine and Surgery of Camelids", Ames, Iowa: Wiley-Blackwell. Chapter 1 General Biology and Evolution addresses the fact that camelids (including llamas and camels) are not ruminants, pseudo-ruminants, or modified ruminants.