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Water buffalo
| Water buffalo | |
|---|---|
| |
| Water buffalo spotted in Sylhet, Bangladesh | |
Domesticated
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Bovinae |
| Genus: | Bubalus |
| Species: | B. bubalis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Bubalus bubalis | |
| |
| Global distribution of the water buffalo in 2004 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Bos bubalis Linnaeus, 1758 | |
The water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), also called domestic water buffalo, Asian water buffalo and Asiatic water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also kept in Italy, the Balkans, Australia, North America, South America and some African countries.[1] Two extant types of water buffalo are recognized, based on morphological and behavioural criteria: the river buffalo of the Indian subcontinent and further west to the Balkans, Egypt and Italy; and the swamp buffalo from Assam in the west through Southeast Asia to the Yangtze Valley of China in the east.[1][2]
The wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) most probably represents the ancestor of the domestic water buffalo.[3] Results of a phylogenetic study indicate that the river-type water buffalo probably originated in western India and was domesticated about 6,300 years ago, whereas the swamp-type originated independently from Mainland Southeast Asia and was domesticated about 3,000 to 7,000 years ago.[4] The river buffalo dispersed west as far as Egypt, the Balkans, and Italy; while swamp buffalo dispersed to the rest of Southeast Asia and up to the Yangtze Valley.[5][6][4]
Water buffaloes were traded from the Indus Valley Civilisation to Mesopotamia, in modern Iraq, in 2500 BC by the Meluhhas.[7] The seal of a scribe employed by an Akkadian king shows the sacrifice of water buffaloes.[8]
Water buffaloes are especially suitable for tilling rice fields, and their milk is richer in fat and protein than that of dairy cattle. A large feral population became established in northern Australia in the late 19th century, and there are smaller feral herds in Papua New Guinea, Tunisia and northeastern Argentina.[1] Feral herds are also present in New Britain, New Ireland, Irian Jaya, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil, and Uruguay.[9]
- ^ a b c Cockrill, W. R. (1977). The water buffalo (PDF). Rome: Animal Production and Health Series No. 4. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2013.
- ^ Cockrill, W. R., ed. (1974). The husbandry and health of the domestic buffalo. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- ^ Lau, C. H.; Drinkwater, R. D.; Yusoff, K.; Tan, S. G.; Hetzel, D. J. S.; Barker, J. S. F. (1998). "Genetic diversity of Asian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis): mitochondrial DNA D-loop and cytochrome b sequence variation" (PDF). Animal Genetics. 29 (4): 253–264. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2052.1998.00309.x. PMID 9745663.
- ^ a b Zhang, Y.; Colli, L. & Barker, J. S. F. (2020). "Asian water buffalo: domestication, history and genetics". Animal Genetics. 51 (2): 177–191. doi:10.1111/age.12911. PMID 31967365.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Liu2004was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
yangwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ McIntosh, J. (2008). The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives. Santa Barabara: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781576079072.
- ^ Khan, G.; Church, S. K.; Harding, R.; Lunde, P.; McIntosh, J.; Stone, C. (2011). "The First Civilizations in Contact: Mesopotamia and the Indus". Civilizations in Contact, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge. Cambridge. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- ^ Long, J. L. (2003). Introduced Mammals of the World: Their History, Distribution and Influence. Collingwood, Australia: Csiro Publishing. ISBN 9780643099166.
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