Pecora

The Pecora are an infraorder of even-toed hoofed mammals with ruminant digestion (Ruminantia, a clade within the Artiodactyla). Most members of Pecora have cranial appendages projecting from their frontal bones; only two extant genera lack them, Hydropotes and Moschus. The name “Pecora” comes from the Latin word pecus, which means “horned livestock”. 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. Likewise, while Pecora as a group is supported by both molecular and morphological studies, morphological support for interrelationships between pecoran families is disputed.

Evolutionary history

The first fossil ruminants appeared in the mid-Eocene, and were small, likely omnivorous, forest-dwellers. Artiodactyls with cranial appendages first occur in the early Miocene. The appearance of the Pecora during the Miocene suggests that their rapid diversification may correspond to the climate change events of that epoch.

Pecora (disambiguation)

Pecora may refer to:

People

See also