Bovinae
| Bovines Temporal range: Miocene to Recent |
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African buffalo bull (Syncerus caffer) |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: |
Bovinae Gray, 1821 |
| Tribes | |
Bovini
Boselaphini
Strepsicerotini
The biological subfamily Bovinae includes a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including domestic cattle, bison, African buffalo, the water buffalo, the yak, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The evolutionary relationship between the members of the group is still debated, and their classification into loose tribes rather than formal subgroups reflects this uncertainty. General characteristics include cloven hoofs and usually at least one of the sexes of a species having true horns. The largest extant bovine is the gaur.
In most countries, bovids are used for food. Cattle are eaten almost everywhere, but in parts of India and Nepal they are considered sacred by most Hindus.
Bovine is derived from Latin bos, "ox", through Late Latin bovinus. Bos comes from the Indo-European root *gwous, meaning ox.
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