Curator of North American mammals and Chief of Mammal Section, National Biological Service, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, USA
Reference for:
Bos taurus
Expert:
Peter Grubb
Notes:
35 Downhills Park Road, London N17 6PE, England
Reference for:
Bos taurus
Source(s):
Source:
NODC Taxonomic Code
Acquired:
1996-07-29
Notes:
Reference for:
Bos taurus
Publication(s):
Author(s)/Editor(s):
Wilson, Don E., and F. Russell Cole
Publication Date (Listed/Actual):
2000-01-01 / 2000-01-01
Article/Chapter Title:
Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.:
Common Names of Mammals of the World
Page(s):
xiv + 204
Publisher:
Smithsonian Institution Press
Publication Place:
Washington, DC, USA
ISBN/ISSN:
1-56098-383-3/
Notes:
With contributions by Bernadette N. Graham, Adam P. Potter, and Mariana M. Upmeyer
Reference for:
Bos taurus
Author(s)/Editor(s):
Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds.
Publication Date (Listed/Actual):
1992-01-01 / 1993-01-01
Article/Chapter Title:
Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.:
Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 2nd ed., 3rd printing
Page(s):
xviii + 1207
Publisher:
Smithsonian Institution Press
Publication Place:
Washington, DC, USA
ISBN/ISSN:
1-56098-217-9/
Notes:
Corrections were made to text at 3rd printing
Reference for:
Bos taurus
Author(s)/Editor(s):
Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds.
Publication Date (Listed/Actual):
2005-10-01 / 2005-10-01
Article/Chapter Title:
Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.:
Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 3rd ed., vols. 1 & 2
Page(s):
2142
Publisher:
Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication Place:
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
ISBN/ISSN:
0-8018-8221-4/
Notes:
Reference for:
Bos taurus
Bos taurus: Geographic Information
Geographic Division:
Africa
Jurisdiction/Origin:
Central Pacific Territories / Introduced
Bos taurus: Comments
Comment:
Status: IUCN - Endangered as Pseudonovibos spiralis (but see comments)
Comment:
ITIS defers to Wilson & Reeder (eds., 2005) on the correct name for a species when the choice is between an older name based on a domestic form and a younger name based on a wild form. ICZN Opinion 2027 (3/2003) sought to resolve this, but by itself the Ruling contained in that Opinion effectively says that it cannot be based on priority. More explicit guidance is found in the "History of Case 3010" section of the Opinion, but ITIS has been advised that only the Ruling section is binding. Thus, there is apparently no basis upon which to select the correct (valid) name
Comment:
Comments: Includes primigenius (extinct wild ancestor surviving into 17th Century) and indicus; but see Corbet (1978c:206). Studies of mtDNA suggest two independent domestications of cattle (Loftus et al. 1994), taurus and indicus, originating presumably from Eurasiatic and Indian populations. Formal synonymy disputed. Gentry et al. (1996) proposed that majority usage be confirmed by adoption of Bos primigenius as the name for the wild taxon of Aurochsen. They asked the International Commission on Z