Bovina Temporal range: Late Miocene - present, [1] | |
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Texas Longhorn Cattle (Bos taurus; top image) and a herd of American bison (Bison bison; bottom) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Bovidae |
Subfamily: | Bovinae |
Tribe: | Bovini |
Subtribe: | Bovina Gray, 1821 |
Type genus | |
Bos | |
Genera | |
List
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Synonyms | |
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Bovina is a subtribe of the Bovini tribe that generally includes the two living genera, Bison and Bos . [2] However, this dichotomy has been challenged recently by molecular work that suggests that Bison should be regarded as a subgenus of Bos. [3] [4] [5] [6] Wild bovinans can be found naturally in North America and Eurasia (although domestic and feral populations have been introduced worldwide). [7]
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Phylogenetic relationships of extant genera of the tribe Bovini (Hassanin et al., 2013) [6] |
The majority of phylogenetic work based on ribosomal DNA, chromosomal analysis, autosomal introns and mitochondrial DNA has recovered three distinctive subtribes of Bovini: Pseudorygina (represent solely by the saola), Bubalina (buffalo), and Bovina. [8] [9] [5] [6]
In 1945 American paleontologist and mammalogist George Gaylord Simpson had considered there to be three genera of bovinans. [10] In addition to recognizing Bos and Bison, he assigned the several Asiatic tropical species such as gaur and banteng into the genus Bibos. [10] The German zoologist Herwart Bohlken also agreed with these conclusions, though he believed that the two bison species should be lumped into Bison bison. [11] The kouprey was not included in Simpson's taxonomy, [10] while Bohlken (1958) considered the species to be a hybrid between banteng and cattle. [11]
Below is the Simpson (1945) taxonomy: [10]
Subsequent taxonomic studies resulted Bibos to be reduced to as either a subgenus [12] or a junior synonym of Bos. [2] As shown below:
However recent molecular work on mitochondrial DNA and the Y-chromosome has completely revamped the evolutionary relationships among bovinans. These studies support of not only the inclusion of bison species into the genus Bos, but offer two radically different positions for the European bison. According to the mitochondrial DNA, these studies support the American bison being closely related to the yak, while the European bison is more related to the aurochs. [13] [5] However a 2008 phylogenetic study using the Y-chromosome found the two bison species to form a clade. It also found that the yaks are an outgroup in relation to the rest of the bovinans, supporting their classification in the genus Poephagus. [14] Another study by Hassanin et al. (2013) using autosomal introns found support in the bison-yak clade. [6] This suggests the mitochondrial genomes is result of incomplete lineage sorting during divergence of Bos and Bison from their common ancestors rather than further post-speciation gene flow (ancient hybridization between Bos and Bison). There is evidence of limited gene flow from Bos primigenius taurus could account for the affiliation between wisent and cattle nuclear genomes (in contrast to mitochondrial ones). [15] These phylogenetic studies lead Groves and Grubb (2011), who conducted large scale taxonomic analysis on the world's ungulate species, to recommend classifying the two bison species as members of the genus Bos. [4]
Below is the listing of species recognized by Groves and Grubb (2011) [4] with species names following Castelló (2016) from Bovids of the World: [7]
The bovinans have a rich fossil record. [12] According to the fossil record and molecular studies, Bubalina and Bovina diverged from one and another from a common ancestor around 13.7 million years ago in the Late Miocene. [1] [6] [12] After arriving into Africa there was a rapid radiation of bovinan species in Africa in the Middle Pliocene. Among the diverse genera of African bovinans were two significant genera: Pelorovis and Leptobos . According to anatomical and morphological study on the various species of Pelorovis and Leptobos, it is believed the former genus evolved into Bos while the latter genus evolved into Bison during the Late Pliocene of East Africa. [16] [17] Both lineages then left Africa and into Eurasia at the end of the Pliocene. While Bos inhabited much of Eurasia, some species of Bison had colonized North America by crossing over the Bering Land Bridge in two waves, the first being 135,000 to 195,000 years ago and the second being 21,000 to 45,000 years ago. [18] [19] [12] The exact relationships between fossil and extant bovinans problematic. [20]
Below is the list of fossil species that have been described so far (listed alphabetically): [12]
The aurochs is an extinct cattle species, considered to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle. With a shoulder height of up to 180 cm (71 in) in bulls and 155 cm (61 in) in cows, it was one of the largest herbivores in the Holocene; it had massive elongated and broad horns that reached 80 cm (31 in) in length.
Bovines comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including cattle, bison, African buffalo, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The evolutionary relationship between the members of the group is still debated, and their classification into loose tribes rather than formal subgroups reflects this uncertainty. General characteristics include cloven hooves and usually at least one of the sexes of a species having true horns. The largest extant bovine is the gaur.
Bos is the genus of wild and domestic cattle. Bos is often divided into four subgenera: Bos, Bibos, Novibos, and Poephagus, but including these last three divisions within the genus Bos without including Bison in the genus is believed to be polyphyletic by many workers on the classification of the genus since the 1980s. The genus as traditionally defined has five extant species but this rises to eight when the domesticated varieties are counted as separate species, and 10 when the closely related genus Bison is also included. Most but not all modern breeds of domesticated cattle are believed to have originated from the extinct aurochs. Many ancient breeds are thought to have originated from other species. Zebus and taurine cattle are thought to descend from ancient Indian and Middle Eastern aurochs, respectively.
Bubalus is a genus of Asiatic bovines that was proposed by Charles Hamilton Smith in 1827. Bubalus and Syncerus form the subtribe Bubalina, the true buffaloes.
Bustards, including floricans and korhaans, are large, terrestrial birds living mainly in dry grassland areas and on the steppes of the Old World. They range in length from 40 to 150 cm. They make up the family Otididae.
The domestic yak, also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox, or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Gilgit-Baltistan (Kashmir), Tajikistan and as far north as Mongolia and Siberia. It is descended from the wild yak.
The Bovidae comprise the biological family of cloven-hoofed, ruminant mammals that includes cattle, yaks, bison, buffalo, antelopes, sheep and goats. A member of this family is called a bovid. With 143 extant species and 300 known extinct species, the family Bovidae consists of 11 major subfamilies and thirteen major tribes. The family evolved 20 million years ago, in the early Miocene.
The kouprey, also known as the forest ox and grey ox, is a possibly extinct species of forest-dwelling wild bovine native to Southeast Asia. It was first scientifically described in 1937. The name kouprey is derived from the Khmer language and means "forest ox".
The banteng, also known as tembadau, is a species of cattle found in Southeast Asia. The head-and-body length is between 1.9 and 3.68 m. Wild banteng are typically larger and heavier than their domesticated counterparts, but are otherwise similar in appearance. The banteng shows extensive sexual dimorphism; adult bulls are generally dark brown to black, larger and more sturdily built than adult cows, which are thinner and usually pale brown or chestnut red. There is a big white patch on the rump. Horns are present on both sexes, and are typically 60 to 95 cm long. Three subspecies are generally recognised.
The kting voar, also known as the khting vor, linh dương, or snake-eating cow is a bovid mammal reputed to exist in Cambodia and Vietnam. The kting voar's existence as a real species should be regarded as questionable, and it is now thought to simply be a hoax made from water buffalo horns.
A bovid hybrid is the hybrid offspring of members of two different species of the bovid family. There are 143 extant species of bovid, and the widespread domestication of several species has led to an interest in hybridisation for the purpose of encouraging traits useful to humans, and to preserve declining populations. Bovid hybrids may occur naturally through undirected interbreeding, traditional pastoral practices, or may be the result of modern interventions, sometimes bringing together species from different parts of the world.
Pelorovis is an extinct genus of African wild cattle which existed during the Pleistocene epoch. The best known species is Pelorovis oldowayensis from Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, from the Early Pleistocene. The species "Pelorovis" antiquus from the Late Pleistocene-Holocene has since been moved into Syncerus, the same genus as living African buffalo.
Bos acutifrons is the most ancient representative of the genus Bos, cattle. Fossils of an individual of B. acutifrons were found in middle Pleistocene-aged strata of Siwalik Hills of Kashmir, in either modern Pakistan or India, in the 19th century. The prehistoric species was described, along with B. planifrons, by Richard Lydekker in 1878. In 1898 Lydekker synonymised B. planifrons with B. acutifrons, reconsidering the skull found to be that of a female individual of the same species.
The tribe Bovini, or wild cattle, are medium to massive bovines that are native to Eurasia, North America, and Africa. These include the enigmatic, antelope-like saola, the African and Asiatic buffalos, and a clade that consists of bison and the wild cattle of the genus Bos. Not only are they the largest members of the subfamily Bovinae, they are the largest species of their family Bovidae. The largest species is the gaur, weighing up to 1,500 kg (3,300 lb).
The tribe Tragelaphini, or the spiral-horned antelopes, are bovines that are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. These include the bushbucks, kudus, and the elands. The scientific name is in reference to the mythical creature the tragelaph, a Chimera with the body of a stag and the head of a goat. They are medium-to-large, tall, long-legged antelopes characterized by their iconic twisted horns and striking pelage coloration patterns.
The wild yak is a large, wild bovine native to the Himalayas. It is the ancestor of the domestic yak.
Hemibos is an extinct even-toed ungulate belonging to the family Bovidae. Its fossil remains were found across Asia and Europe such as from China, Italian Peninsula, Iberian Peninsula, and State of Palestine, Israel, Pakistan, India.
Bubalina is a subtribe of wild cattle that includes the various species of true buffalo. Species include the African buffalo, the anoas, and the wild water buffalo. Buffaloes can be found naturally in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia, and domestic and feral populations have been introduced to Europe, the Americas, and Australia. In addition to the living species, bubalinans have an extensive fossil record where remains have been found in much of Afro-Eurasia.