Bubalus

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 domestic animals as species, subspecies, races or breeds has been discussed controversially for many years and was inconsistent between authors.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Assessors of the Food and Agriculture Organization consider domestic water buffalo populations as breeds.<ref>FAO (2013). Breeds from species: Buffalo. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.</ref>

Bubalus species comprise the domestic water buffalo (B. bubalis), the wild water buffalo (B. arnee), the tamaraw (B. mindorensis), the lowland anoa (B. depressicornis), and the mountain anoa (B. quarlesi).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The latter two anoa species were proposed to form a subgenus Anoa within Bubalus.<ref>Template:Cite journalTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

Characteristics

File:Water buffalo skull (Bubalus bubalis).jpg

Bubalus skull

File:Buffalo kidney-- FMVZ USP-09.jpg

Kidney of a Bubalus

Smith described Bubalus as low in proportion to the bulk with very solid limbs, a small dewlap 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Species

This genus comprises the following living species:<ref name=Grooves2011>Template:Cite book</ref>

Image	Scientific name	Distribution
File:Water-buffalo.jpg	Domestic water buffalo B. bubalis Linnaeus, 1758	Domestic in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and China; feral populations exist in South America and Australia
File:Indian Water Buffalo Bubalus arnee by Dr Raju Kasambe IMG 0347 (11) (cropped).jpg	Wild water buffalo B. arnee Kerr, 1792	Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia
File:Lowland Anoa.JPG	Lowland anoa B. depressicornis Smith, 1827	Sulawesi in Indonesia
File:Bubalus mindorensis by Gregg Yan 01.jpg	Tamaraw B. mindorensis Heude, 1888	Mindoro in the Philippines
File:Mountain Anoa at Krefeld Zoo.jpg	Mountain anoa B. quarlesi Ouwens, 1910	Sulawesi

Valid names

The 2013 checklist of the Catalogue of Life lists as "accepted" five species binomina in the genus Bubalus:

• Bubalus bubalis Linnaeus, 1758
• Bubalus depressicornis Smith, 1827
• Bubalus mephistopheles Hopwood, 1925
• Bubalus mindorensis Heude, 1888
• Bubalus quarlesi Ouwens, 1910

Bubalus arnee is not listed here.<ref name=cat>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.</ref>

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System lists the same five species binomina as valid; it also lists as valid six subspecies of Bubalus bubalis:<ref name=itis>ITIS Results of: Search in every Kingdom for Scientific Name containing 'Bubalus' Template:Webarchive. Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed january 2014.</ref>

• Bubalus bubalis arnee Kerr, 1792
• Bubalus bubalis bubalis Linnaeus, 1758
• Bubalus bubalis fulvus Blanford, 1891
• Bubalus bubalis kerabau Fitzinger, 1860
• Bubalus bubalis migona Deraniyagala, 1952
• Bubalus bubalis theerapati Groves, 1996

Fossil species

File:Bubalus murrensis.JPG

Bubalus murrensis horns

The following extinct fossil species have been described:

• Bubalus brevicornis - Young, 1936
• Bubalus cebuensis (Cebu tamaraw) - Croft, Heaney, Flynn and Bautista, 2006<ref>Croft, D. A., Heaney, L. R., Flynn, J. J., Bautista, A. P. (2006). Fossil remains of a new, diminutive Bubalus (Artiodactyla: Bovidae: Bovini) from Cebu island, Philippines. Journal of Mammalogy 87(#5): 1037–1051.</ref>
• Bubalus fudi - Guo, 2008 - (possibly a subspecies of Bubalus wansijocki)
• Bubalus grovesi - Rozzi, 2017<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Bubalus mephistopheles (Short-horned water buffalo) - Hopwood, 1925<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Bubalus murrensis (European water buffalo) - Berckhemer, 1927<ref>Schreiber, H. D., Munk, W. (2002). A skull fragment of Bubalus murrensis (Berckhemer, 1927) (Mammalia, Bovinae) from the Pleistocene of Bruchsal-Buchenau (NE-Karlsruhe, SW-Germany). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie (12): 737–748.</ref>
• Bubalus palaeokerabau (Long-horned Javan water buffalo) - E. Dubois, 1908<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Bubalus platyceros - Lydekker, 1877
• Bubalus teilhardi - Young, 1932
• Bubalus wansijocki - Chardin, 1928
• Bubalus youngi - Chow and Hsu, 1957

See also

• List of water buffalo breeds