The Cebu tamaraw (''Bubalus cebuensis'') is a fossil
dwarf buffalo
''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 ...
discovered in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, and first described in 2006.
Anatomy and morphology
The most distinctive feature of ''B. cebuensis'' was its small size. Large contemporary domestic water buffalo stand 2 m (roughly 6 ft) at the shoulder and can weigh up to 1 tonne (around 2,000 lb), ''B. cebuensis'' would have stood only 75 cm (about 2 ft 6 in) and weighed about 150 to 160 kg (around 300 lb), smaller than another dwarf species ''
B. mindorensis''.
[Croft, D.A. L. R. Heaney, J. J. Flynn, and A. P. Bautista. 2006. FOSSIL REMAINS OF A NEW, DIMINUTIVE ''BUBALUS'' (ARTIODACTYLA: BOVIDAE: BOVINI) FROM CEBU ISLAND, PHILIPPINES. ''Journal of Mammalogy'' 87:1037–1051]
The fossil specimen is likely Pleistocene or Holocene in age.
Evolutionary history
The fossil was discovered in a horizontal tunnel in soft
karst
Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
around 50 m elevation in K-Hill near Balamban,
Cebu Island
Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the P ...
, the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, by mining engineer Michael Armas.
New dwarf buffalo discovered by chance in the Philippines
EurekAlert, October 17, 2006 The fossil was donated to America's Field Museum, where it stayed unanalyzed for almost 50 years.
See also
* List of extinct animals of the Philippines
The Philippines is a young archipelago with oldest soils dating back to Jurassic and archipelago forming during the Paleogene. Its faunal records of fossil bodies mostly are within the Cenozoic era with Pleistocene fauna began appearing in man ...
References
Bovines
Prehistoric bovids
Holocene extinctions
Pleistocene mammals of Asia
Pleistocene even-toed ungulates
Fossil taxa described in 2006
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