Bovid
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belonging to the family Bovidae. The family is widespread, being native to all continents
except South America,
and Antarctica, and diverse: members include
Buffalo, water buffalo,
color: #0000FF;">sheep,
and domestic cattle.
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Characteristics
weighs well over a ton and stand 2.2 metres high at the shoulder; the
smallest, the royal antelope, weighs about 3 kg and stands
no taller than a large domestic cat. Some are thick-set and muscular;
others are lightly built, with small frames and long legs. Many
congregate into large groups with complex social structures, but others
are mostly solitary. Within their extensive range, they occupy a wide
variety of habitat types, from
to tundra and from thick tropical forest to high mountains.
Most
members of the family are herbivorous, except most
color: #0000FF;">duikers, which are omnivorous. Like other
bovids have a four-chambered stomach which allows them to digest plant
material, such as grass, that cannot be used by many other animals.
Such plant material includes much
and no higher animal can digest this directly. However, ruminants (and
some others like kangaroos,
and termites) are able to use micro-organisms living in their gut to
break down cellulose by
Because
of the size and weight of their complex digestive systems, many bovids
have a solid, stocky build – the more gracile species tend to have
more selective diets, and be browsers rather than grazers. Their upper
teeth and
are missing, and are replaced with a hard, horny pad, that the lower
teeth grind against to cut grass or other foliage. The outer pair of
teeth in the front of the lower jaw are either considered to be canines,
or to be incisors, with the canines missing. The
teeth are low-crowned and
and are separated from the forward teeth by a wide gap, or
color: #0000FF;">[1] The
formula for bovids is similar to that of other ruminants:
or
on each foot – they walk on the central two (the
while the outer two (the dew-claws) are much smaller and rarely
if ever touch the ground. Apart from some
forms, the males in all species have
and in many the females do, too. The size and shape of the horns vary
greatly, but the basic structure is always a pair of simple bony protrusions
without branches, often having a spiral, twisted or fluted form, each
covered in a permanent sheath of
The horns of females are usually smaller than those of males, and are
sometimes of a different shape. It is theorized that the horns of female
bovids evolved for defense against predators[2].
Evolution
from the early Miocene, around 20 million years ago. The earliest
bovids, such as Eotragus, were small
animals, somewhat similar to modern
and probably lived in
environments. The bovids rapidly diversified and by the late Miocene,
the number of bovid species had greatly expanded. This late Miocene
radiation was partly due to the fact that many bovids became adapted
to more open, grassland, habitat.[3] There are 78 genera known from
the Miocene (compared to 50 today).
Early
in their evolutionary history, the bovids split up into two main clades:
Eurasian origin) and Aegodontia (of African origin) has been attributed
to the continental divide between these landmasses. When these continents
were later rejoined, this barrier was removed, and both groups expanded
into each other's territory.[4]
The
largest number of modern bovids is found in
while substantial but less diverse populations are in
and North America. Some scientists has suggested that
many bovid species that evolved in Asia could not survive predation
by humans arriving from Africa in the late
African species had many thousands or a few million years to adapt to
the gradual development of human hunting skills. Yet many of the commonly
domesticated bovid species (goats, sheep, water buffalo and
originated in Asia. This may be because Asian bovids had less fear of
humans and were more docile.
The small number of modern American bovids are relatively recent arrivals
over the Bering land bridge, but they long predate
human arrival.
Taxonomy
two additional subfamilies have been recognised. The eight traditional
subfamilies can be divided into two clades, the Boodontia (with
the Bovinae as sole members) and the Aegodontia (composed of all other
subfamilies). Some authors do not agree with the high number of subfamilies,
although they do recognise these two clades. However, these are treated
as subfamilies instead: Bovinae (without change) and Antilopinae (with
all of the Aegodontid subfamilies as tribes within it).
Among
the eight to ten subfamilies presented here, only some groups have a
well-established phylogeny. The Bovinae, for example, are monophyletic
and basal; while the Caprinae, Hippotraginae, and Alcelaphinae cluster
together consistently. The phylogenetic relationships of the other subfamilies
are still unclear or unresolved.[5]
Classification
- ORDER ARTIODACTYLA:
even-toed ungulates - Suborder Suina: pigs and allies
- Suborder Tylopoda: camels and llamas
- Suborder
- Infraorder Tragulina
- Family Tragulidae: chevrotains, 9 species in 3
genera - Infraorder
- Family Moschidae: musk deer, 4 species in one
genus - Family Antilocapridae: pronghorns, one species in one genus
- Family Giraffidae: giraffes and okapi, 2 species in 2 genera
- Family Cervidae: deer, 43 species in 16 genera
- Family Bovidae
- Subfamily Bovinae: cattle, buffalos and spiral-horned antelopes,
27 species in 10 genera - Subfamily Cephalophinae: duikers, 19 species in 2
genera - Subfamily Hippotraginae: grazing antelopes, 7 species
in 3 genera - Subfamily Antilopinae: gazelles, dwarf antelopes and the saiga,
34 species in 13 genera - Subfamily Caprinae: goat-antelopes: sheep, goats,
muskox, takin etc, 33 species in 10 genera - Subfamily Reduncinae: reedbucks, lechwe, 9 species in 2 genera
- Subfamily Aepycerotinae: impala, 1 species in 1 genus
- Subfamily Peleinae: rhebok, 1 species in 1 genus
- Subfamily Alcelaphinae:
topi/tsessebe, 10 species in 4 genera - Subfamily Pantholopinae: Chiru
References
- ^
& Jarman, P. (1984). Macdonald, D.. ed. The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. pp. 498–499. ISBN - ^
T.; Caro, T. (2009). - ^
& Long, MR (1986). Mammal Evolution: an illustrated guide
on File. pp. 232–235. ISBN - ^
Douzery (1999). - ^
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