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Zebu
The zebu (/ˈziːb(j)uː, ˈzeɪbuː/; Bos indicus), also known as indicine cattle and humped cattle, is a species or subspecies of domestic cattle originating in South Asia. Zebu, like many Sanga cattle breeds, differ from taurine cattle in the fatty hump on their shoulders, their large dewlap, and their sometimes-drooping ears. They are well adapted to high temperatures and are raised throughout the tropics.
The zebu is used as a draught and riding animal, as dairy cattle and beef cattle, and as a source of byproducts such as hides and dung for fuel and manure. Some small breeds such as Nadudana (also known as the miniature zebu) are also kept as pets.
In some regions, zebu have significant religious meaning.
Both scientific names Bos taurus and Bos indicus were introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, with the latter used for humped cattle in China.
The zebu was classified as a distinct species by Juliet Clutton-Brock in 1999, but was later classified as a subspecies of the domestic cattle, Bos taurus indicus, by both Clutton-Brock and Colin Groves in 2004 and by Peter Grubb in 2005. In 2011, Groves and Grubb classified it as a distinct species again.[failed verification]
The American Society of Mammalogists considers it as belonging to the species Bos taurus in analogy to Sanga cattle (Bos taurus africanus Kerr, 1792). The extinct wild aurochs (Bos primigenius) is thought to have diverged into two distinct genetic strains: the humped Bos indicus and the humpless Bos taurus.
Zebu cattle were found to derive from the Indian form of aurochs and one of the key centers of the Indian Subcontinent been domesticated between 7,000 and 6,000 YBP at Mehrgarh, present-day Pakistan, by people linked to or coming from Mesopotamia, including with South India and Gujarat from Western-India being the additional centers for domestication.
Its wild ancestor, the Indian aurochs, became extinct during the Indus Valley Civilisation likely due to habitat loss, caused by expanding pastoralism and interbreeding with domestic zebu. Its latest remains ever found were dated to 3,800 YBP, making it the first of the three aurochs subspecies to die out.
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Zebu
The zebu (/ˈziːb(j)uː, ˈzeɪbuː/; Bos indicus), also known as indicine cattle and humped cattle, is a species or subspecies of domestic cattle originating in South Asia. Zebu, like many Sanga cattle breeds, differ from taurine cattle in the fatty hump on their shoulders, their large dewlap, and their sometimes-drooping ears. They are well adapted to high temperatures and are raised throughout the tropics.
The zebu is used as a draught and riding animal, as dairy cattle and beef cattle, and as a source of byproducts such as hides and dung for fuel and manure. Some small breeds such as Nadudana (also known as the miniature zebu) are also kept as pets.
In some regions, zebu have significant religious meaning.
Both scientific names Bos taurus and Bos indicus were introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, with the latter used for humped cattle in China.
The zebu was classified as a distinct species by Juliet Clutton-Brock in 1999, but was later classified as a subspecies of the domestic cattle, Bos taurus indicus, by both Clutton-Brock and Colin Groves in 2004 and by Peter Grubb in 2005. In 2011, Groves and Grubb classified it as a distinct species again.[failed verification]
The American Society of Mammalogists considers it as belonging to the species Bos taurus in analogy to Sanga cattle (Bos taurus africanus Kerr, 1792). The extinct wild aurochs (Bos primigenius) is thought to have diverged into two distinct genetic strains: the humped Bos indicus and the humpless Bos taurus.
Zebu cattle were found to derive from the Indian form of aurochs and one of the key centers of the Indian Subcontinent been domesticated between 7,000 and 6,000 YBP at Mehrgarh, present-day Pakistan, by people linked to or coming from Mesopotamia, including with South India and Gujarat from Western-India being the additional centers for domestication.
Its wild ancestor, the Indian aurochs, became extinct during the Indus Valley Civilisation likely due to habitat loss, caused by expanding pastoralism and interbreeding with domestic zebu. Its latest remains ever found were dated to 3,800 YBP, making it the first of the three aurochs subspecies to die out.