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. Assessors of the Food and Agriculture Organization consider domestic water buffalo populations as breeds.FAO (2013). Breeds from species: Buffalo. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
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). The latter two anoa species were proposed to form a subgenus Anoa within Bubalus.
Characteristics
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. 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: Image Scientific name Distribution Domestic water buffalo B. bubalis Linnaeus, 1758 Domestic in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, China, Italy and Romania; feral populations exist in South America and Australia Wild water buffalo B. arnee Kerr, 1792 Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia Lowland anoa B. depressicornis Smith, 1827 Sulawesi in Indonesia Tamaraw B. mindorensis Heude, 1888 Mindoro in the Philippines 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.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 lists the same five species binomina as valid; it also lists as valid six subspecies of Bubalus bubalis:ITIS 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 Linnaeus, 1758 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 fossil species have been described:
Bubalus brevicornis - Young, 1936 Bubalus cebuensis (Cebu tamaraw) - Croft, Heaney, Flynn and Bautista, 2006Croft, 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. Bubalus fudi - Guo, 2008 - (possibly a subspecies of Bubalus wansijocki) Bubalus grovesi - Rozzi, 2017 Bubalus mephistopheles (Short-horned water buffalo) - Hopwood, 1925 Bubalus murrensis (European water buffalo) - Berckhemer, 1927Schreiber, 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. Bubalus palaeokerabau (Long-horned Javan water buffalo) - E. Dubois, 1908 Bubalus platyceros - Lydekker, 1877 Bubalus teilhardi - Young, 1932 Bubalus wansjocki - Chardin, 1928 Bubalus youngi - Chow and Hsu, 1957
See also List of water buffalo breeds
References