cloven hoof

Capreolus capreolus (Roe Deer) cloven hoof

A cloven hoof is a hoof split into two toes. This is found on members within the mammalian order Artiodactyla. Examples of mammals that possess this type of hoof are pigs, deer and sheep.^[1]

The two digits of cloven hoofed animals are homologous to the third and fourth fingers of the hand. They are called claws and are named for their relative location on the foot: the outer, or lateral, claw and the inner, or medial claw. The space between the two claws is called the interdigital cleft; the area of skin is called the interdigital skin. The hard outer covering of the hoof is called the hoof wall, or horn. It is a hard surface, similar to the human fingernail.^[2]

The almost finger-like dexterity available to cloven hoofed mammals like the Mountain Goat and Mountain Sheep combined with a hard outer shell and soft and flexible inner pads provide excellent traction in their precarious habitats.^[3][4][5]

Evolution

It is speculated that during the Eocene period, hoofed marsh dwellers carried their body weight using mainly two of the middle toes, which grew to be of equal size, becoming the Artiodactyla or even-toed hoofed animals. Prior to the close of the Eocene period the side toes of some had dwindled and practically disappeared while the basal pieces or metapodium of the pair of supporting toes became fused together, thus producing the appearance of a cloven hoof.^[6]

The mammal with a cloven hoof is an even-toed ungulate of order Artiodactyla as opposed to the odd-toed ungulates of Perissidactyla, like the horse, which have one toe, or the rhinoceros, which has three toes. The five-toed ancestors of the earliest Eocene had already developed feet that suggest odd-toed and even-toed descendants to the modern viewer. Even Phenacodus, the most generalized of the early mammals, has a foot in which the central toe is somewhat larger than the others and could be placed in the division of odd toed ungulates, Perissidactyla. ^[7]

Cloven hooves in culture

Unclean animals

In Judaism, Kashrut (kosher) is the set of dietary laws governing what may or may not be consumed. These laws are based upon the Torah and the Talmud. According to Jewish law, animals that both chew their cud (ruminate) and have cloven hooves are kosher^[8]. Animals with one characteristic but not the other (the camel, the hyrax and the hare because they have no cloven hooves, and the pig because it does not ruminate) are specifically excluded^[9] (Leviticus 11:3-8).^[10] Jews are forbidden from eating pork, as swine are considered to be unclean. In the context of Judaism, the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy from the Hebrew Bible specify what must not be consumed.

The Book of Leviticus states:

These are the animals considered to be unclean according to Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.

The Devil

The cloven hoof is also traditionally associated with the Devil. In works from Shakspeare and Sir Thomas Browne the association is very close and the devil takes pains to hide or disguise the hoof.^[11][12] In other works the Devil and the cloven hoof can be separated, some believe the cloven hoof more mischievous than the devil.^[13] But not every cloven hoof is the devil's minion. ^[14] In Teutonic Mythology the devil has a non-cloven hoof that is solid like that of a horse,^[15] from which he can not be separated.^[16]

There is a story that in the year 1165 the Devil was seen riding like a great black horse before a storm in Yorkshire, the marks of his feet were visible in several places, particularly on the cliff at Scarborough, where he sprang into the sea. In the late 1800s, in the South of England, was the discovery of marks in various parts of the country which could not be identified as any known beast or bird. The people did not like to say it was the Devil, but no explanation of the mystery was offered. Perhaps this extraordinary presence may have been nothing more than the cloven hoof which in the deep snows of winter is said to haunt the Dewerstone a rocky elevation on the borders of Dartmoor But this latter phenomenon is reported to be accompanied by a naked human foot. A case occurred in Devonshire and are many cases are collected in "Lancashire Folk Lore" 1867. ^[17]

References