Bovini

Cattle
Temporal range: Middle Miocene – present, 15–0 Ma [1][2]
Domestic cow
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Bovinae
Tribe: Bovini
Gray, 1821
Type genus
Bos
Subtribes and genera

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.[3][4] 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 (Bos gaurus), weighing up to 1,500 kg (3,300 lb).[5]

Bovins and humans have had a long and complex relationship. Five of seven species have been successfully domesticated, with one species (cattle) being the most successful member of their lineage. Domesticated shortly after the last ice age,[6] there are at least 1.4 billion cattle in the world.[7] Domestic bovines have been selectively bred for beef, dairy products and leather, and serve as working animals. However, many species of wild cattle are threatened by extinction due to habitat loss to make room for cattle farming as well as unregulated hunting.[1][8] Some are already extinct like the aurochs, two subspecies of European bison and perhaps the kouprey.[9]

  1. ^ a b Kingdon, J. (2015). The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals. Princeton University Press.
  2. ^ Hassanin, A.; Ropiquet, A. (2004). "Molecular phylogeny of the tribe Bovini (Bovidae, Bovinae) and the taxonomic status of the Kouprey, Bos sauveli Urbain 1937". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 33 (3): 896–907. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.08.009. PMID 15522811.[dead link‍]
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference bibi2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference hassaninetal2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Hassanin, A. (2015). "Systematics and Phylogeny of Cattle". In Garrick, D.; Ruvinsky, A. (eds.). The Genetics of Cattle (Second ed.). Oxfordshire, Boston: Cabi. pp. 1–18. ISBN 9781780642215.
  6. ^ Bollongino, R.; Burger, J.; Powell, A.; Mashkour, M.; Vigne, J.-D.; Thomas, M. G. (2012). "Modern taurine cattle descended from small number of Near-Eastern founders". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 29 (9): 2101–2104. doi:10.1093/molbev/mss092. PMID 22422765. Op. cit. in Wilkins, Alasdair (28 March 2012). "DNA reveals that cows were almost impossible to domesticate". io9. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  7. ^ "Counting Chickens". The Economist. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference castelló2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Timmins, R.J.; Burton, J.; Hedges, S. (2016). "Bos sauveli". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T2890A46363360. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T2890A46363360.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is critically endangered.