Domestic yak
| Yak | |
|---|---|
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| A yak in the Nepalese Himalayas. | |
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Domesticated
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Bovinae |
| Genus: | Bos |
| Species: | B. grunniens |
| Binomial name | |
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Bos grunniens Linnaeus, 1766 |
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The domestic yak (Bos grunniens) is a long-haired domesticated bovid found throughout the Himalaya region of southern Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. It is descended from the wild yak (Bos mutus).
The English word "yak" is a loan originating from Tibetan: གཡག་, Wylie: g.yag. In Tibetan, it refers only to the male of the species, the female being called Tibetan: འབྲི་, Wylie: 'bri, or nak. In English, as in most other languages that have borrowed the word, "yak" is usually used for both sexes.
Yaks belong to the genus Bos and are therefore related to cattle (Bos primigenius species). analyses to determine the evolutionary history of yaks have been inconclusive.
The yak may have diverged from cattle at any point between one and five million years ago, and there is some suggestion that it may be more closely related to bison than to the other members of its designated genus. Apparent close fossil relatives of the yak, such as Bos baikalensis, have been found in eastern Russia, suggesting a possible route by which yak-like ancestors of the modern American bison could have entered the Americas.
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Wikipedia