''Bubalus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of Asiatic

bovines Bovines ( subfamily Bovinae) 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 betw ...

that was proposed by

Charles Hamilton Smith Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Hamilton Smith, KH, KW, FRS, FLS, (26 December 1776 in East Flanders, in the United Provinces of the Netherlands – 21 September 1859 in Plymouth) was an English artist, naturalist, antiquary, illustrator, soldie ...

in 1827. ''Bubalus'' and ''

Syncerus ''Syncerus'' is a genus of African bovid that contains the living Cape buffalo ''(Syncerus caffer)'', including the distinct African forest buffalo The African forest buffalo (''Syncerus caffer nanus''), also known as the dwarf buffalo or the ...

'' form the subtribe

Bubalina Bubalina is a subtribe of Bovini, wild cattle that includes the various species of true buffalo. Species include the African buffalo, the anoas, and the wild water buffalo (including the domesticated variant water buffalo). Buffaloes can be fo ...

, the true buffaloes. The

International Code of Zoological Nomenclature The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the ...

and

classification Classification is a process related to categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood. Classification is the grouping of related facts into classes. It may also refer to: Business, organizat ...

of domestic animals as

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

s or

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

s has been discussed controversially for many years and was inconsistent between authors. Assessors of the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

consider domestic water buffalo populations as breeds. ''Bubalus'' species comprise the domestic

water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called the domestic water buffalo or Asian water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, North America, So ...

(''B. bubalis''), the

wild water buffalo The wild water buffalo (''Bubalus arnee''), also called Asian buffalo, Asiatic buffalo and wild buffalo, is a large bovine native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as ''Endangered'' in the IUCN Red List since 198 ...

(''B. arnee''), the

tamaraw The tamaraw or Mindoro dwarf buffalo (''Bubalus mindorensis'') is a small hoofed mammal belonging to the family Bovidae. It is endemic to the island of Mindoro in the Philippines, and is the only endemic Philippine bovine. It is believed, howe ...

(''B. mindorensis)'', the lowland

anoa Anoa, also known as dwarf buffalo and ''sapiutan'', are two species of the genus '' Bubalus'' endemic to the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia: the mountain anoa (''Bubalus quarlesi'') and the lowland anoa (''Bubalus depressicornis''). Both liv ...

(''B. depressicornis''), and the mountain anoa (''B. quarlesi''). The latter two anoa species were proposed to form a subgenus within ''Bubalus''.

Characteristics

Smith described ''Bubalus'' as low in proportion to the bulk with very solid limbs, a small

dewlap A dewlap is a longitudinal flap of skin or similar flesh that hangs beneath the lower jaw or neck of many vertebrates. More loosely, it can be various similar structures in the neck area, such as those caused by a double chin or the submandibula ...

and a long, slender tail; the head is large with a strong convex-shaped narrow forehead, large eyes and funnel-shaped ears; horns are lying flat or bending laterally with a certain direction to the rear; the female udder has four

mammae A mammary gland is an exocrine gland in humans and other mammals that produces milk to feed young offspring. Mammals get their name from the Latin word ''mamma'', "breast". The mammary glands are arranged in organs such as the breasts in primat ...

Lydekker Richard Lydekker (; 25 July 1849 – 16 April 1915) was an English naturalist, geologist and writer of numerous books on natural history. Biography Richard Lydekker was born at Tavistock Square in London. His father was Gerard Wolfe Lydekker, ...

added that the line of back is nearly straight with 13 pairs of ribs; the tail is tufted and reaching about to the hocks; the horns are more or less markedly triangular for the greater part of their length and situated low down on the skull; the muzzle is broad, and the hair sparse in adults.

Species

This genus comprises the following living species:

Valid names

The 2013 checklist of the

Catalogue of Life The Catalogue of Life is an online database that provides an index of known species of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. It was created in 2001 as a partnership between the global Species 2000 and the American Integrated Taxonomic Info ...

lists as "accepted" five species binomina in the genus ''Bubalus'': * ''Bubalus bubalis''

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the sta ...

* ''Bubalus depressicornis'' Smith, 1827 * ''Bubalus mephistopheles'' Hopwood, 1925 * ''Bubalus mindorensis'' Heude, 1888 * ''Bubalus quarlesi'' Ouwens, 1910 ''Bubalus arnee'' is not listed here.Roskov Y., Kunze T., Paglinawan L., Orrell T., Nicolson D., Culham A., Bailly N., Kirk P., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Hernandez F., De Wever A., eds (2013)
''Bubalus''
Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 2013 Annual Checklist. Reading, UK. The

Integrated Taxonomic Information System The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is an American partnership of federal agencies designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ITIS was originally formed in 1996 as an interagenc ...

lists the same five species binomina as valid; it also lists as valid six subspecies of ''Bubalus bubalis'':ITI
Results of: Search in every Kingdom for Scientific Name containing 'Bubalus'
. Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed january 2014. * ''Bubalus bubalis arnee'' Kerr, 1792 * ''Bubalus bubalis bubalis''

* ''Bubalus bubalis fulvus'' Blanford, 1891 * ''Bubalus bubalis kerabau'' Fitzinger, 1860 * ''Bubalus bubalis migona'' Deraniyagala, 1952 * ''Bubalus bubalis theerapati'' Groves, 1996

Fossil species

The following

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

species have been described: *''

Bubalus brevicornis ''Bubalus'' is a Genus (biology), genus of Asiatic Bovinae, bovines that was proposed by Charles Hamilton Smith in 1827. ''Bubalus'' and ''Syncerus'' form the subtribe Bubalina, the true buffaloes. The International Code of Zoological Nomenclatu ...

'' - Young, 1936 *''

Bubalus cebuensis The Cebu tamaraw (''Bubalus cebuensis'') is a fossil dwarf buffalo discovered in the Philippines, and first described in 2006. Anatomy and morphology The most distinctive feature of ''B. cebuensis'' was its small size. Large contemporary domest ...

'' (Cebu tamaraw) - Croft, Heaney, Flynn and Bautista, 2006 *''

Bubalus fudi ''Bubalus fudi'' is an extinct relative of water buffalo, which survived in the late Pleistocene. Discovery The fossil of ''Bubalus fudi'' was discovered by a company (Beijing Fudi Investment Co., Ltd) in 2002 while digging the foundations of ...

'' - Guo, 2008 - (possibly a subspecies of ''Bubalus wansijocki'') *''

Bubalus grovesi ''Bubalus grovesi'' is an extinct species of water buffalo that lived in southern Sulawesi during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene. ''B. grovesi'' was an extremely small buffalo species, estimated at only . It experienced a body size reduc ...

'' - Rozzi, 2017 *''

Bubalus mephistopheles ''Bubalus mephistopheles'', also known as the short-horned water buffalo, is an extinct species of bovine that lived in China during the Pleistocene and Holocene. It survived into historic times, perhaps as recently as 1200 BC. Description The sh ...

'' (Short-horned water buffalo) - Hopwood, 1925 *''

Bubalus murrensis ''Bubalus murrensis'', also known as European water buffalo, is an extinct bovine that lived in Europe during the Pleistocene. Its closest living relatives are the wild water buffalo ''(Bubalus arnee)'', the tamaraw ''(Bubalus mindorensis)'', th ...

'' (European water buffalo) - Berckhemer, 1927 *''

Bubalus palaeokerabau ''Bubalus palaeokerabau'' is an extinct species of water buffalo that was endemic to Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Jav ...

'' (Long-horned Javan water buffalo) - E. Dubois, 1908 *''

Bubalus platyceros ''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. The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and classification of d ...

'' - Lydekker, 1877 *'' Bubalus teilhardi'' - Young, 1932 *''

Bubalus wansijocki ''Bubalus wansijocki'' (sometimes misspelled ''Bubalus wansjocki'') is an extinct species of water buffalo known from northern China during the Late Pleistocene. A 2014 study on extinct Chinese buffalo species indicates that the related ''Bubalus ...

'' - Chardin, 1928 *'' Bubalus youngi'' - Chow and Hsu, 1957

References

{{Use British English Oxford spelling, date=June 2018 Bovines Herbivorous mammals Mammal genera Taxa named by Charles Hamilton Smith

Characteristics

Species

Valid names

Fossil species

See also

References