Aurochs: The Ancestor of Cattle

The aurochs was a large species of ox and the ancestor of all cattle.

Written, edited, and directed by Donald Metzger
Script consultant: Cassie Schuchart

#extinctanimals #cattle

Photo credits:

Video credits:
Yakup
Roman Odintsov
Cottonbro
Pressmaster

[WildlifeChronicles]

Aurochs were domesticated in India and the Middle East about 10, 000 years ago. The interbreeding of the aurochs and domestic cattle gave rise to two breeds that survive today: the taurine cattle and the zebu.

[indyreno]

The aurochs that is the ancestor of the domestic cattle and zebu is actually two separate species, the Palearctic Aurochs (Bos primigenius) and the Paleotropical Aurochs (Bos namadicus), the former is the ancestor of the Domestic Cattle (Bos primigenius taurus) while the latter is the ancestor of the Zebu (Bos namadicus indicus), making the Palearctic Aurochs (Bos primigenius (cladistically including the Domestic Cattle (Bos primigenius taurus))) and the Paleotropical Aurochs (Bos namadicus (cladistically including the Zebu (Bos namadicus indicus))) the only two extant members of the genus Bos, the scientific trinomial names of the domestic cattle and zebu are very different as the domestic cattle and zebu are not closely related and evolved their domesticated lifestyle independently, a surprising example of convergent evolution, very similar to the evolution of sloths, in which Two-Toed Sloths (genus Choloepus and family Choloepodidae) are more closely related to the extinct mylodontid ground sloths (family Mylodontidae) while Three-Toed Sloths (genus Bradypus and family Bradypodidae) are more closely related to the extinct megalonychid and megatheriid ground sloths (families Megalonychidae and Megatheriidae).

[jthomas]

A New Subspecies of the Aurochs found in East Asia, Karakoram Mountains, and Central Asia was described in2024 by Zheng and Colleagues, and They given the Name "Bos primigenius sinensis" or the "East Asian Aurochs, " which actually means "Chinese Original Ox, " despite Their Name, They found not just in China, but also found in the Korean Peninsula, Mongolia, Southern Siberia, Karakoram Forests of India and Pakistan, and Plains of Central Asia.

[zebraz]

These animals lived in India and all away to France

[Koremel]

The intro almost made me cry the poor animals died by human greed