Wildlife
Odd-toed ungulates are a group of mammals that have either one or three toes. The three families in this order are the large and tank-like rhinoceroses, pig-like tapirs and the agile horses. The 17 species in this order can be found in Africa, Asia and even the Americas and include domesticated horses and donkeys. With their browsing and grazing lifestyle, they have a specially enlarged section of the large intestine in which bacteria live and help them digest their food.
The shading illustrates the diversity of this group - the darker the colour the greater the number of species. Data provided by WWF's Wildfinder.
An odd-toed ungulate is a mammal with hooves that feature an odd number of toes. Odd-toed ungulates comprise the order Perissodactyla (Greek: περισσός, perissós, "uneven", and δάκτυλος, dáktylos, "finger/toe"). The middle toe on each hoof is usually larger than its neighbours. Odd-toed ungulates are relatively large grazers and, unlike the ruminant even-toed ungulates (artiodactyls), they have relatively simple stomachs because they are hindgut fermenters, digesting plant cellulose in their intestines rather than in one or more stomachs. Odd-toed ungulates include the horse, tapirs, and rhinoceroses.
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