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Bovoidea

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | 633 words | Copyright

Bovoidea (order Artiodactyla, infra-order Pecora) A superfamily that comprises two families, Antilocapridae and Bovidae, sometimes grouped together as a single family, Bovidae. The pronghorn (Antilocapra) and numerous extinct allied forms have been distinct from the bovids since the Miocene and in fact may have evolved from a cervid line. Bovoids are pecorans with lateral toe digits reduced in some species to a nodule of bone. The upper canines are reduced or absent, the cheek teeth high-crowned. Horns are present, usually in both sexes though more developed in males, and covered with keratin rather than skin (as in cervids).

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