![]() The largest odd-toed ungulates are rhinoceroses, and the extinct Paraceratherium, a hornless rhino from the Oligocene, is considered one of the largest land mammals of all time. Notable extinct groups include the brontotheres, chalicotheres, and the paraceratheres, with the paraceratheres including the largest known land mammals to have ever existed.ĭespite their very different appearances, they were recognized as related families in the 19th century by the zoologist Richard Owen, who also coined the order's name. Another difference between the two is that odd-toed ungulates digest plant cellulose in their intestines, rather than in one or more stomach chambers as even-toed ungulates, with the exception of Suina, do. By contrast, the even-toed ungulates bear most of their weight equally on four or two (an even number) of the five toes: their third and fourth toes. The nonweight-bearing toes are either present, absent, vestigial, or positioned posteriorly. They typically have reduced the weight-bearing toes to three or one of the five original toes, though tapirs retain four toes on their front feet. The order includes about 17 living species divided into three families: Equidae ( horses, asses, and zebras), Rhinocerotidae ( rhinoceroses), and Tapiridae ( tapirs). Perissodactyla ( / p ə ˌ r ɪ s oʊ ˈ d æ k t ɪ l ə/, from Ancient Greek περισσός, perissós 'odd', and δάκτυλος, dáktylos 'finger, toe' ), are an order of ungulates. The white rhinoceros is the largest living perissodactyl Clockwise from left: plains zebra ( Equus quagga), Indian rhinoceros ( Rhinoceros unicornis) and Brazilian tapir ( Tapirus terrestris)
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