Water buffalo

This article is about the domesticated water buffalo. For its endangered wild ancestor, see Wild water buffalo. For the wild African species, see African buffalo. For other uses, see Water buffalo (disambiguation).

Water buffalo
Water buffalo spotted in Sylhet, Bangladesh
Domesticated
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Bovinae
Genus: Bubalus
Species:
B. bubalis
Binomial name
Bubalus bubalis
Global distribution of the water buffalo in 2004
Synonyms

Bos bubalis Linnaeus, 1758

The water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), also called domestic water buffalo, Asian water buffalo and Asiatic water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also kept in Italy, the Balkans, Australia, North America, South America and some African countries.[1] Two extant types of water buffalo are recognized, based on morphological and behavioural criteria: the river buffalo of the Indian subcontinent and further west to the Balkans, Egypt and Italy; and the swamp buffalo from Assam in the west through Southeast Asia to the Yangtze Valley of China in the east.[1][2]

The wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) most probably represents the ancestor of the domestic water buffalo.[3] Results of a phylogenetic study indicate that the river-type water buffalo probably originated in western India and was domesticated about 6,300 years ago, whereas the swamp-type originated independently from Mainland Southeast Asia and was domesticated about 3,000 to 7,000 years ago.[4] The river buffalo dispersed west as far as Egypt, the Balkans, and Italy; while swamp buffalo dispersed to the rest of Southeast Asia and up to the Yangtze Valley.[5][6][4]

Water buffaloes were traded from the Indus Valley Civilisation to Mesopotamia, in modern Iraq, in 2500 BC by the Meluhhas.[7] The seal of a scribe employed by an Akkadian king shows the sacrifice of water buffaloes.[8]

Water buffaloes are especially suitable for tilling rice fields, and their milk is richer in fat and protein than that of dairy cattle. A large feral population became established in northern Australia in the late 19th century, and there are smaller feral herds in Papua New Guinea, Tunisia and northeastern Argentina.[1] Feral herds are also present in New Britain, New Ireland, Irian Jaya, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil, and Uruguay.[9]

  1. ^ a b c Cockrill, W. R. (1977). The water buffalo (PDF). Rome: Animal Production and Health Series No. 4. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2013.
  2. ^ Cockrill, W. R., ed. (1974). The husbandry and health of the domestic buffalo. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
  3. ^ Lau, C. H.; Drinkwater, R. D.; Yusoff, K.; Tan, S. G.; Hetzel, D. J. S.; Barker, J. S. F. (1998). "Genetic diversity of Asian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis): mitochondrial DNA D-loop and cytochrome b sequence variation" (PDF). Animal Genetics. 29 (4): 253–264. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2052.1998.00309.x. PMID 9745663.
  4. ^ a b Zhang, Y.; Colli, L. & Barker, J. S. F. (2020). "Asian water buffalo: domestication, history and genetics". Animal Genetics. 51 (2): 177–191. doi:10.1111/age.12911. PMID 31967365.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Liu2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference yang was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ McIntosh, J. (2008). The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives. Santa Barabara: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781576079072.
  8. ^ Khan, G.; Church, S. K.; Harding, R.; Lunde, P.; McIntosh, J.; Stone, C. (2011). "The First Civilizations in Contact: Mesopotamia and the Indus". Civilizations in Contact, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge. Cambridge. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  9. ^ Long, J. L. (2003). Introduced Mammals of the World: Their History, Distribution and Influence. Collingwood, Australia: Csiro Publishing. ISBN 9780643099166.