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This list of fictional ungulates in literature is a subsidiary to the list of fictional ungulates and list of fictional animals. The list is restricted to notable ungulate (hooved) characters from various works of literature. This list includes deer, moose, cattle, giraffes, camels, donkeys, sheep, goats and zebras, but excluding horses, pachyderms and pigs, which are listed in separate lists.
| Name | Species | Author | Work | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bambi | Roe Deer | Felix Salten | Bambi, A Life in the Woods | |
| Elliot | Moose | Andrea Beck | Elliot Moose | |
| Faline | Roe Deer | Felix Salten | Bambi, A Life in the Woods | |
| Great Prince | Roe Deer | Felix Salten | Bambi, A Life in the Woods | |
| Rannoch | Red deer | David Clement-Davies | Fire Bringer | |
| Rudolph | Reindeer | Robert L. May | Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer | A reindeer originally from the 1939 story 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer', later adapted to a 1949 song, a 1964 television special, and various derivative works. |
| Name | Author | Work | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benjamin | George Orwell | Animal Farm | |
| Candlewick | Carlo Collodi | The Adventures of Pinocchio | Boy who turns into a donkey |
| Eeyore | A. A. Milne | Winnie-the-Pooh | A gloomy, pessimistic donkey, but a true friend of Pooh's. |
| Puzzle | C. S. Lewis | The Chronicles of Narnia |
| Name | Species | Author | Work | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zigby | Zebra | Brian Paterson | Zigby |
Ungulates are members of the diverse clade Euungulata which primarily consists of large mammals with hooves. Once part of the clade "Ungulata" along with the clade Paenungulata, "Ungulata" has since been determined to be a polyphyletic and thereby invalid clade based on molecular data. As a result, true ungulates had since been reclassified to the newer clade Euungulata in 2001 within the clade Laurasiatheria while Paenungulata has been reclassified to a distant clade Afrotheria. Living ungulates are divided into two orders: Perissodactyla including equines, rhinoceroses, and tapirs; and Artiodactyla including cattle, antelope, pigs, giraffes, camels, sheep, deer, and hippopotamuses, among others. Cetaceans such as whales, dolphins, and porpoises are also classified as artiodactyls, although they do not have hooves. Most terrestrial ungulates use the hoofed tips of their toes to support their body weight while standing or moving. Two other orders of ungulates, Notoungulata and Litopterna, both native to South America, became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene, around 12,000 years ago.
Artiodactyls are placental mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla. Typically, they are ungulates which bear weight equally on two of their five toes: the third and fourth, often in the form of a hoof. The other three toes are either present, absent, vestigial, or pointing posteriorly. By contrast, most perissodactyls bear weight on an odd number of the five toes. Another difference between the two is that many artiodactyls digest plant cellulose in one or more stomach chambers rather than in their intestine as perissodactyls do. The advent of molecular biology, along with new fossil discoveries, found that cetaceans fall within this taxonomic branch, being most closely related to hippopotamuses. Some modern taxonomists thus apply the name Cetartiodactyla to this group, while others opt to include cetaceans within the existing name of Artiodactyla. Some researchers use "even-toed ungulates" to exclude cetaceans and only include terrestrial artiodactyls, making the term paraphyletic in nature.
A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures, a form of spirit, often with metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural qualities.
The Goat is the eighth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. This zodiacal sign is often referred to as the "Ram" or "Sheep" sign, since the Chinese word yáng is more accurately translated as Caprinae, a taxonomic subfamily that includes both goats and sheep, but contrasts with other animal subfamily types such as Bovinae, Antilopinae, and other taxonomic considerations which may be encountered in the case of the larger family of Bovidae in Chinese mythology, which also includes the Ox (zodiac). The Year of the Goat is associated with the 8th Earthly Branch symbol, 未 (wèi).
A winged unicorn is a fictional ungulate, typically portrayed as a horse, with wings like Pegasus and the horn of a unicorn. In some literature and media, it has been referred to as an alicorn, a word derived from the Italian word alicorno, or as a pegacorn, a portmanteau of pegasus and unicorn.
The bharal, also called the blue sheep, is a caprine native to the high Himalayas. It is the only member of the genus Pseudois. It occurs in India, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. The Helan Mountains of Ningxia have the highest concentration of bharal in the world, with 15 bharals per km2 and 30,000 in total.
The Barbary sheep, also known as aoudad, is a species of caprine native to rocky mountains in North Africa. While this is the only species in genus Ammotragus, six subspecies have been described. Although it is rare in its native North Africa, it has been introduced to North America, southern Europe, and elsewhere. It is also known in the Berber language as waddan or arwi, and in former French territories as the moufflon.
The gorals are four species in the genus Naemorhedus. They are small ungulates with a goat-like or antelope-like appearance. Until recently, this genus also contained the serow species.
The Wonderful Birch is a Finnish/Russian fairy tale. A variant on Cinderella, it is Aarne–Thompson folktale type 510A, the persecuted heroine. It makes use of shapeshifting motifs. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.
The Cetruminantia are a clade made up of the Cetancodontamorpha and their closest living relatives, the Ruminantia.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fiction:
The Tooth fairy is a mythical creature who gives out money in exchange for teeth.
Talking animals are a common element in mythology and folk tales, children's literature, and modern comic books and animated cartoons. Fictional talking animals often are anthropomorphic, possessing human-like qualities. Whether they are realistic animals or fantastical ones, talking animals serve a wide range of uses in literature, from teaching morality to providing social commentary. Realistic talking animals are often found in fables, religious texts, indigenous texts, wilderness coming of age stories, naturalist fiction, animal autobiography, animal satire, and in works featuring pets and domesticated animals. Conversely, fantastical and more anthropomorphic animals are often found in the fairy tale, science fiction, toy story, and fantasy genres.
Magic in fiction is the endowment of characters or objects in works of fiction or fantasy with powers that do not naturally occur in the real world.
This is a list of lists of notable fictional animals.
Bovidae in Chinese mythology include various myths and legends about a group of biologically distinct animals which form important motifs within Chinese mythology. There are many myths about the animals modernly classified as Bovidae, referring to oxen, sheep, goats, and mythological types such as "unicorns". Chinese mythology refers to those myths found in the historical geographic area of China, a geographic area which has evolved or changed somewhat through history. Thus this includes myths in Chinese and other languages, as transmitted by Han Chinese as well as other ethnic groups. There are various motifs of animals of the Bovidae biological family in Chinese mythology. These have often served as allusions in poetry and other literature. Some species are also used in the traditional Chinese calendar and time-keeping system.
Notiolofos is an extinct genus of sparnotheriodontid ungulate from the order Litopterna. The animal lived during the Eocene, in modern-day Antarctica. The genus contains two species, N. arquinotiensis, the type species, and N. regueroi.