2,274. Ten Kosher Species of Animal

Maachalos Assuros 1:7

If something (i.e., a fetus) resembling a bird is found in a (slaughtered kosher) animal, it may not be eaten even if it resembles a kosher bird. This is because a fetus found in an animal is only permitted when it has a hoof.

Maachalos Assuros 1:8

The only domesticated and wild animals that may be eaten are the ten species mentioned in the Torah. There are three types of domesticated animals: the ox, the sheep and the goat and seven types of wild beasts. [Editor’s note: since not all the species are definitively identified, we will refrain from giving what might appear to be an exhaustive list. Examples include the deer, the antelope, the gazelle, the ibex and the giraffe.] This includes all of an animal’s subspecies; for example, the wild ox and the buffalo are subspecies of the ox. These ten species and their subspecies all chew cud and have split hooves. One who can identify these species doesn’t have to check their mouths or feet.