Editing Hoof (section)

{{Short description|Tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, strengthened by a thick and horny keratin covering}}
{{Redirect|Cow toe|prostration in East Asian cultures|kowtow}}
[[Image:Capreolus capreolus cloven hoof.jpg|right|thumb|The feet of the [[roe deer]] (''Capreolus capreolus'') have cloven hooves with prominent dewclaws.]]

The '''hoof''' ({{plural form}}: '''hooves''') is the tip of a [[toe]] of an [[ungulate]] [[mammal]], which is covered and strengthened with a thick and horny [[keratin]] covering.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/hoof|title=the definition of hoof|website=Dictionary.com|access-date=2016-11-30}}</ref> [[Artiodactyl]]s 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]], [[goats]], [[gazelles]], [[pigs]], and [[sheep]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Keller|first1=Anna|last2=Clauss|first2=Marcus|last3=Muggli|first3=Evelyne|last4=Nuss|first4=Karl|date=2009-07-15|title=Even-toed but uneven in length: the digits of artiodactyls|journal=Zoology|volume=112|issue=4|pages=270–278|doi=10.1016/j.zool.2008.11.001|pmid=19386479|url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/18798/4/Even-toed_returned.pdf|access-date=2019-12-14|archive-date=2021-03-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303191239/https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/18798/4/Even-toed_returned.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The feet of [[perissodactyl]] mammals have an odd number of toes, e.g. the [[horse]], the [[rhinoceros]], and the [[tapir]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Holbrook|first=Luke T.|date=1999-09-01|title=The Phylogeny and Classification of Tapiromorph Perissodactyls (Mammalia)|journal=Cladistics|language=en|volume=15|issue=3|pages=331–350|doi=10.1111/j.1096-0031.1999.tb00270.x|pmid=34902952 |s2cid=221584511|issn=1096-0031|doi-access=free}}</ref> Although hooves are limb structures primarily found in [[placenta]]l mammals, hadrosaurs such as ''[[Edmontosaurus]]'' possessed hoofed forelimbs. The [[marsupial]] ''[[Chaeropus]]'' also had hooves.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sánchez-Villagra|first1=Marcelo R.|title=Why are There Fewer Marsupials than Placentals? On the Relevance of Geography and Physiology to Evolutionary Patterns of Mammalian Diversity and Disparity|journal=Journal of Mammalian Evolution|date=22 December 2012|volume=20|issue=4|pages=279–290|doi=10.1007/s10914-012-9220-3|s2cid=18789008|url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/71489/10/ZORA_NL_71489.pdf}}</ref>