Bovidae
Sign in to saveBovidae is the biological family of cloven-hoofed, ruminant mammals that includes cattle, bison, buffalo, antelopes, and goat-antelopes such as sheep and goats. There are 143 extant species and 300 known extinct species of bovids, which are divided into either 11 major subfamilies, or two subfamilies with thirteen tribes. The earliest known bovid had evolved by 20 million years ago, in the early Miocene.
AI overview
Bovidae is a family of hoofed, plant-eating mammals that includes familiar animals like cattle, sheep, goats, buffalo, and antelopes, with about 143 species alive today. These animals have been around for at least 20 million years and represent one of the most successful and diverse groups of large mammals in Earth's history.
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Taxonomy · GBIF
FAMILY
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassMammalia
- OrderArtiodactyla
- FamilyBovidae
via GBIF · CC0
Article
22 sectionsContents
- Naming and etymology
- Taxonomy
- Evolutionary history
- Early Miocene and before
- Middle Miocene
- Late Miocene
- Plio-Pleistocene
- Characteristics
- Anatomy
- Dentition
- Ecology and behaviour
- Activity
- Diet
- Sexuality and reproduction
- Lifespan
- Distribution
- Interaction with humans
- In human culture
- Domestication
- Animal products
- References
- External links
Bovidae is the biological family of cloven-hoofed, ruminant mammals that includes cattle, bison, buffalo, antelopes, and goat-antelopes such as sheep and goats. There are 143 extant species and 300 known extinct species of bovids, which are divided into either 11 major subfamilies, or two subfamilies with thirteen tribes. The earliest known bovid had evolved by 20 million years ago, in the early Miocene.
The bovids show great variation in size and colouration of their fur. With exceptions in some domesticated forms, all male bovids have two or more horns, and in many species, females possess horns too. The size and shape of the horns vary greatly, but the basic structure is always one or more pairs of simple, unbranched, bony protrusions of the skull covered in a permanent sheath of keratin, and often with a spiral, twisted, or fluted shape, Most bovids bear 30 to 32 teeth.