Aurochs

Aurochs Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene–Holocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Mounted skeleton of an aurochs bull at the National Museum of Denmark
Conservation status
Extinct (1627)  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Bovidae
Subfamily:	Bovinae
Genus:	Bos
Species:	†B. primigenius
Binomial name
†Bos primigenius Bojanus, 1825[2]
Subspecies
List †Bos primigenius primigenius Bojanus, 1825 †Bos primigenius namadicus Falconer, 1859 †Bos primigenius mauritanicus Thomas, 1881 †Bos primigenius thrinacius Siarabi, 2023
Former distribution of the aurochs

The aurochs (Bos primigenius) (/ˈɔːrɒks/ or /ˈaʊrɒks/, plural aurochs or aurochsen) is an extinct species of bovine, 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.

The aurochs was part of the Pleistocene megafauna. It probably evolved in Asia and migrated west and north during warm interglacial periods. The oldest-known aurochs fossils date to the Middle Pleistocene. The species had an expansive range spanning from Western Europe and North Africa to the Indian subcontinent and East Asia. The distribution of the aurochs progressively contracted during the Holocene due to habitat loss and hunting, with the last known individual dying in the Jaktorów forest in Poland in 1627.

There is a long history of interaction between aurochs and humans, including archaic humans like Neanderthals. The aurochs is depicted in Paleolithic cave paintings, Neolithic petroglyphs, Ancient Egyptian reliefs and Bronze Age figurines. It symbolised power, sexual potency and prowess in religions of the ancient Near East. Its horns were used in votive offerings, as trophies and drinking horns.

Two aurochs domestication events occurred during the Neolithic Revolution. One gave rise to the domestic taurine cattle (Bos taurus) in the Fertile Crescent in the Near East that was introduced to Europe via the Balkans and the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Hybridisation between aurochs and early domestic cattle occurred during the early Holocene. Domestication of the Indian aurochs led to the zebu cattle (Bos indicus) that hybridised with early taurine cattle in the Near East about 4,000 years ago. Some modern cattle breeds exhibit features reminiscent of the aurochs, such as the dark colour and light eel stripe along the back of bulls, the lighter colour of cows, or an aurochs-like horn shape.