Cud stretched, forming a vacuum in the gullet that sucks the semi-liquid stomach content into the esophagus. From the esophagus it is taken back to the mouth with retro peristaltic movements. When the stomach content, or the cud, arrives in the mouth of the ruminant, it is pushed against the palate with the tongue to remove excess liquid, the latter is swallowed and the solid material is chewed thoroughly so the cattle can extract the minerals present in the cud brought to the surface during rumination. The function of rumination is that food is physically refined to expose more surface area
Merycochoerus Merycochoerus Merycochoerus is an extinct genus of terrestrial herbivore of the family Merycoidodontidae (oreodont), endemic to North America during the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene (28.4—16.3 mya) existing for approximately . A single specimen was examined by M. Mendoza for body mass and estimated to have a weight of 444.3 kg (979.5 lbs). "Merycochoerus" was a cud-chewing plant-eater with a long face, tusk-like canine teeth, heavy body, long tail, short feet, and four-toed hooves.. The long animals are thought to have been amphibious, as members of the genus possessed an elongated, barrel-shaped body and short limbs that are typical adaptations