Pecora Temporal range: Eocene - recent
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Scientific 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]
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