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Hoof
Tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, strengthened by a thick and horny keratin covering / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Cow toe" redirects here. For prostration in East Asian cultures, see kowtow.
The hoof (pl.: hooves) is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, which is covered and strengthened with a thick and horny keratin covering.[1] Artiodactyls are even-toed ungulates, species whose feet have an even number of digits; the ruminants with two digits are the most numerous, e.g. giraffe, deer, bison, cattle, goat, pigs, and sheep.[2] The feet of perissodactyl mammals have an odd number of toes, e.g. the horse, the rhinoceros, and the tapir.[3] Although hooves are limb structures primarily found in placental mammals, hadrosaurs such as Edmontosaurus possessed hoofed forelimbs. The marsupial Chaeropus also had hooves.[4]
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