Bovidae
| Bovidae Temporal range: 20–0 Ma Early Miocene - Recent |
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| Example Bovidae (clockwise from top left) – sable antelope, sheep, zebu, Chinese goral, nyala, and Maxwell's duiker | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Pecora |
| Family: |
Bovidae Gray, 1821 |
| Subfamilies | |
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Aepycerotinae (1 genus) |
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Aepycerotinae (1 genus)
Alcelaphinae (4 genera)
Antilopinae (3 tribes and 15 genera)
Bovinae (3 tribes and 10 genera)
Caprinae (3 tribes and 13 genera)
Cephalophinae (3 genera)
Hippotraginae (3 genera)
Pantholopinae (1 genus)
Peleinae (1 genus)
Reduncinae (2 genera)
The Bovidae are the biological family of cloven-hoofed, ruminant mammals that includes bison, African buffalo, water buffalo, antelopes, gazelles, sheep, goats, muskoxen, and domestic cattle. A member of this family is called a bovid. Consisting of 143 extant species and 300 known extinct species, the family Bovidae consists of eight major subfamilies apart from the disputed Peleinae and Pantholopinae. The family evolved 20 million years ago, in the early Miocene.
The bovids show great variation in size and pelage colouration. Excepting some , 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 bony protrusions without branches, often having a spiral, twisted or fluted form, each covered in a permanent sheath of keratin. Most bovids bear 30 to 32 teeth.
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Wikipedia