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- Examples of artiodactyls includes: hippopotamuses, camels, llamas, giraffes, okapi, deer, cattle, hogs, antelope, and pigs.

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- Artiodactyls have multiple defining features including: a paraxonic limb structure, pulley-shaped astragalus, large molars and small canines, and an even amount of toes.
- The paraxonic limb structure is that artiodactyls have moderately long metapodials, which are unfused. Usually, the third and fourth metapodials bear most of the weight of the organism and are much larger. This can vary between species, however they all share the same structure.
- The pulley-shaped astragalus, or ankle bone, has an unusual double-pulley shape. Grooves are located on both the bottom and the top of the bone, acting like a pulley wheel that holds a rope. This allows artiodactyls to spring higher and flexibilty than those species with single-pulley systems.
- Most artiodactyls, with a few exceptions, are herbivores and only consume vegetation. Canines, usually used to rip meat, therefore have no use to them. As a cause of this, their canines have shrunk as there is no purpose to have stronger or larger canines. However, molars are used to grind vegetation into smaller, digestible amounts, thus stronger molars are needed to consume more types of plants.
- Artiodactyls are distinguished from perissodactyls based on the amount of toes they have. Originating from the placement of the paraxonic limb structure, the weight is held by one larger metapodial or two larger metapodials. In artiodactyls, this weight is held up by the two metapodials, distinguishing the even-toed artiodactyls from the odd-toed perissodactyls.

http://www.ultimateungulate.com/artiodactyla.html
http://animaldiversity.org/collections/mammal_anatomy/running_fast/
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/08/whale-evolution/mueller-text/6

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http://www.ultimateungulate.com/artiodactyla.html
https://10mammalianorders.wikispaces.com/Order+Artiodactyla

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http://www.ultimateungulate.com/artiodactyla.html
http://www.bio.miami.edu/dana/160/160S13_5.html

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Giraffe Skull
http://www.ultimateungulate.com/artiodactyla.html
http://www.skullsite.co.uk/Giraffe/giraffe.htm

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Deer Skull
http://www.ultimateungulate.com/artiodactyla.html
https://www.thinglink.com/scene/766202192460775425

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- Common behaviors practiced by artiodactyls includes: vegetarian diet, gregarious lifestyle, and maternal patterns.
- Most artiodactyls eat strictly vegetation, however, there have been a few instances where species have been found to eat other, smaller animals. They do not follow a strict meal time and graze every so often, but they usually sleep during the night.
- Typically, artiodactyls are very social animals and easily domesticated, otherwise known as "gregarious." For example, pigs, cows, and llamas are all domesticated animals used for human benefit. Artiodactyls stick in groups to increase survival rate, stay near their partner, and to just remain with others. Packs tend to be consisted of one male and a group, or harem, of females, but numbers can increase based on the ratio.
- Births are major events in the group, with some groups having females that surround the mother and child to defend them from the environment or enemies. Gestation can vary and take from a little less than a year to more than a year. Artiodactyls give birth to one child only, as most twin circumstances has ended with at least one fatality.

http://www.newworldencclopedia.org/entry/Even-toed_ungulate#Behavior.2C_feeding.2C_and_reproduction

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- Even-toed mammals exist on every continent on the globe, except for Antarctica. The order is very diverse so most members just need solid land, vegetation, and some water source to survive in their environment, however amounts can vary between species. For example, a Nubian giraffe can survive longer with the same amount of water a deer receives due to their environment.

http://www.ultimateungulate.com/artiodactyla.html

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http://www.ultimateungulate.com/artiodactyla.html

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Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Giraffidae
Genus: Giraffa
Species: camelopardalis
Subspecies: camelopardalis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nubian_giraffe
https://archive.org/stream/catalogueofungul03brit#page/242/mode/2up/search/Giraffa+camelopardalis+camelopardalis

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- The Nubian giraffe is a subspecies of a giraffe and is located in the savannah and woodlands of South Sudan, Southwestern Ethiopia, Uganga, and Kenya. The Nubian giraffe has chestnut-colored sports surrounded by white lines, horn-like structures protruding from the head, and an extremely long neck. Like most artiodactyls, the Nubian giraffe is fairly gregarious and has vegetation for it's diet. The giraffe can mate throughout the year, and has gestation periods lasting, on average, 15 months.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nubian_giraffe
https://archive.org/stream/catalogueofungul03brit#page/242/mode/2up/search/Giraffa+camelopardalis+camelopardalis

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Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Cervidae
Genus: Rangifer
Species: tarandus
Subspecies: platyrhynchus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard_reindeer
https://a-z-animals.com/animals/reindeer/
https://www.britannica.com/animal/reindeer

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- The Svalbard reindeer is native to the Svalbard archipelago of Norway, which includes the Svalbard islands. This species of reindeer is the most northern-located herbivore on the planet. Even through their own species, there is not enough vegetation to feed the whole population of Svalbard reindeer. Starvation is one of the main causes of mortality for this species. To defend itself from other elements, the Svalbard reindeer has large, thick fur that changes color based upon the seasons. Not only does the thick coat of fur provide defense against the freezing temperatures, it also provides camouflage against predators. Another defining characteristic of the reindeer are their antlers. The massive antlers stay year-round for males, but change sizes during the seasons for females. However, studies suggest that the size and strength of antlers is used for mating purposes, with the female deciding based on the antlers or fights using the antlers. Like most artiodactyls, the Svalbard reindeer stick in groups centered around one male and multiple females and exclusively eat vegetation. While scarce, the vegetation can be found on the ridges of mountains and plateaus in the north. For especially harsh winters, the reindeer hold food reserves to survive through the blistering cold that removes most vegetation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard_reindeer
https://a-z-animals.com/animals/reindeer/
https://www.britannica.com/animal/reindeer

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Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Camelidae
Genus: Lama
Species: glama
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llama
http://www.llama-llama.com/index.html
https://a-z-animals.com/animals/llama/

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- Llamas have no specific sub-species and are all placed under one large category due to their domestication. Currently in the Andes mountain range in South America, llamas originated from the migrating camelids that crossed the Bering land bridge (between Alaska and Russia) and then the Panama land bridge (between North American and South America). Llamas have moderately long necks and a thick wool that covers their whole body. The wool can have a variety of colors and can be domesticated to receive a specific shade. However, there is less wool on the underside of the llama, as it both protects and regulates the temperature by balancing the body temperature of the llama and the cold winds from the mountain range. While most llamas follow most artiodactyls and are easily domesticated and survive in groups, some males can become territorial to balance the ecosystem so overgrazing does not occur. This can cause the lead male to drive out invading males, new females, and young adolescents.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llama
http://www.llama-llama.com/index.html
https://a-z-animals.com/animals/llama/

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- Taxonomy itself can show the relatedness of different species. The more levels that are the same between the two species, the more likely the two different species are closely related. All three of the exemplary organisms have the same relatedness to one another, as they all correlate until after the order, where they all separated into different families.

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- This is the preserved fetus of a general giraffe. It has a very long neck and a head with a protruding mouth with tucked in long legs.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jc1Yb7dlJP4/TA6kyBmrwVI/AAAAAAAAABs/Xw7Aq-VxYYs/s1600/2559430779_2f73746669.jpg

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- This is the dead fetus of a cow. It has a shorter neck compared to the giraffe. The head has a circular base with a protruding mouth. The legs are also long and tucked in.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQBGHfE4ZnHe-KZ4y-NLSQK8omZ8JMCa7NVtgi8V33BWuNebADd

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- Comparing the two fetuses of the two different species of artiodactyls, there is a huge difference between the neck lengths. The giraffe had a much longer neck, while the cow has a shorter neck. However, both the giraffe and cow fetuses have the same head shape and similar lengths for their legs. Embryology is used to understand the relationship between organisms because it is the beginning of organisms, which can show differences and similarities between the development of the species. Thus, while the length of the necks of both species is very different, the head and leg shapes still remain the same. This shows that the giraffe evolved to grow a longer neck to reach leaves higher up in the tree in their desolated habitat.

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- The Diacodexis existed 54 million years ago in the Eocene epoch. The species is predicted to have originated from Cretaceous and Paleocene mammals called condylarths. However, this species is considered the ancestor of all artiodactyls. The rabbit-sized organism was very small, however, it shares most features with even the largest even-toed mammals. The head shape is circular with a protruding mouth, paraxonic limb structure, and an even amount of toes.

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/artio/artiofr.html
http://www.ultimateungulate.com/artiodactyla.html

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- The Perchoerus existed 23 million years ago in the Oligocene epoch. There is a strong resemblance to pigs (of the family Suidae), which is a result because of the convergent evolution with similar niches and them both being omnivorous. However, the Perchoerus is an ancestor of peccaries, a part of the family Suida. Comparing the Perchoerus and Diacodexis, the two skulls of the different species look fairly the same. Both have circular heads with protruding mouths, large molars, and moderately-sized canines.

http://www.fossilmuseum.net/Fossil_Sites/badlands/Perchoerus/Perchoerus.htm

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- The Shansitherium existed 15 million years ago in the Miocene epoch. The Shansitherium is an ancestor of the present-day giraffe. It looked like antelope-like giraffe or a moose-like giraffe. Here, changes in the skull are seen from the Diacodexis, including a longer neck and an elongated skull and protruding mouth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shansitherium
http://jimolive.photoshelter.com/image/I00003PecFzSAksY

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- The Synthetoceras tricornatus existed 13 million years ago in the Miocene epoch. It was endemic to North America. This fossil shows further evolution, as horns can be seen at the front of the protruding mouth and from the side of the skull. The skull is also further elongated from the Diacodexis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetoceras

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- The Sivatherium maurusium existed 5 million years ago in the Pliocene and Holocene epochs. The Sivatherium is an ancestor of the present-day giraffe. At the time, it was also considered the largest ruminate. The fossils themselves were found in the Himalayan foothills, however there have been ancient cave paintings in the Sahara and Central West India that depict the Sivatherium. Two large horns sprout from the sides of the skull on the Sivatherium and an elongated mouth, showing further evolution from the original Diacodexis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sivatherium
http://www.wildafrica.sk/index_soubory/Kenya%20National%20Museum%2008/album/slides/DSC_0026.html

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- The Megaloceros existed 3 million years ago in the Pleistocene epoch. It is called the "Irish Elk" however, it is not endemic to Ireland, nor is it an elk. The Megaloceros is one of THEN most recent ancestors of present-day deer and caribou. The species has the largest known sizes of antlers out of any other artiodactyl and could have been used for nonrandom mating selection. The large antlers are predicted to have come from horns, showing a long line of evolution from the original ancestor, the Diacodexis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_elk

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- A common giraffe has 28 pairs of body cells and 1 pair of sex cells. Most related species to the giraffe have similar amounts of body and sex cells, however other branches of the order can have different amounts of body cells and sex cells due to the large diversity of artiodactyls.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Polina_Perelman/publication/253338678/figure/fig1/AS:298230114996236@1448115008653/Fig-1-G-banded-karyotype-of-the-pronghorn-Antilocapra-americana-AAM-with-homologies.png

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- A common deer has 28 pairs of body cells and 1 pair of sex cells. It has a close genetic relationship to the common giraffe andmost likely shares a similar ancestor to the giraffe. While artiodactyls can vary in chromosome number, by comparing two species with the same chromosome number, one can conclude how closely related the two species are.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alexander_Graphodatsky/publication/8102705/figure/fig1/AS:281444585885697@1444113026389/Figure-2-G-banded-karyotype-of-a-male-forest-musk-deer-Chromosome-numbers-are-indicated.png

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Over the course of millions of years, the rate of evolution has remained stable, with sudden bursts of change, called punctuated equilibrium. Over these sudden bursts, certain traits appeared and spread among the masses, including: horns/antlers, changes in the shape of the skull, and body proportions. Originally, the Diacodexis had a small body, regular-shaped skull, and no horns/antlers. However, as time progressed, new fossils were found, showing the massive body and antlers of the Megaloceros and the elongated skull of the Shansitherium.

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Through the fossil record, there are distinct differences as time goes on from the original even-toed mammal, the Diacodexis. From the Diacodexis, the skull stays relatively the same or is elongated over the course of millions of years. The different branches of the Artiodactyla order adapt and evolve to the environments they relocate to. For example, take the Shansitherium, which has an elongated skull to help reach vegetation high up.

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Llamas originated from the migration of Camelidae ancestors from the area of Africa and Eurasia. These ancestors moved across the Bering land bridge (between Alaska and Russia), to be locked in the Americas. After reaching the Americas, most of the ancestors began to move south, where they crossed the Panama land bridge. Thus, the ancestors were isolated in present-day South America, where they evolved into the present-day llamas.
http://www.llama-llama.com/text/history-na.html
https://www.nescent.org/news/thisweek.php-id=43.html

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Mating within the Artiodactyla order may also vary between random and nonrandom. For example, llamas have no specific requirements for choice of mates, while Svalbard reindeers and Nubian giraffes have specific requirements for mating. It is predicted that Svalbard reindeer females chooses their partner based on the size and the strength of their antlers. However, Nubian giraffe males taste the urine of females to "test their fertility" and fight with other males by "necking," which is when giraffes whip their necks at their opponents' necks. Thus, the size and strength of the male giraffes and reindeer are tested by the females to find a suitable mate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nubian_giraffe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard_reindeer

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Darwin's theory of descent with modification can relate to my taxonomic group through the fossil record. The original even-toed mammal, the Diacodexis, started off as a simple organism, followed by a look-alike relative, the Perchoerus. However, over the course of 30 million years, the shape and size of the organisms drastically change. Relatives gain elongated skulls and horns/antlers. As time continues, the genes of mutations within the original species changes, descending down the phylogenetic tree. This gives each organism a modification, making them unique from other closely-related species.

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Darwin's theory of natural selection relates to my taxonomic group through exemplary organisms of the Artiodactyla order. Female giraffes and reindeer determine their mate based on the size and strength of their necks or antlers. Thus, the larger and stronger the neck or antlers, the more likely they will find a mate. This shows directional natural selection as larger is deemed better, most likely giving the offspring better chances at receiving those same large traits as their fathers.