Are hoofed bipeds feasible?

Satyrs, fauns, pan, and even the devil are commonly depicted as humanoid bipeds with goatlike unguligrade hooves for feet. However, common as such beings may be in fantasy and mythology, I have been unable to unearth any paleontological evidence that any form of biped has ever had hoof-like feet.

There are, of course, examples of digitigrade bipeds, like kangaroos and ostriches, but they all have one common trait in common with one another: toes. That is to say, they all walk on their intermediate tarsals, leaving an additional tarsal at the end for balance and support. Hoofed, unguligrade animals don't have this sort of support, walking instead only on the distal-most tarsal in the foot.

For a quadruped, this isn't an issue, as there are plenty of other limbs to help maintain balance, but what about for a biped? Could a hoofed, unguligrade biped actually evolve, or can they only exist in fairy tales?

posted almost 8 years ago

ckersch‭

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