Pecorans are even-toed hoofed mammals with ruminant digestion (Ruminantia, a clade within the order Artiodactyla) in the infraorder Pecora. Most members of Pecora have cranial appendages projecting from their frontal bones; only 2 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 2 occasions. Likewise, while the Pecora as a group are supported by both molecular and morphological studies, morphological support for interrelationships between pecoran families is disputed.
This category is for animals that are pecorans.
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