Water buffalo

The water buffalo or domestic Asian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is a large bovid originating in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and China. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, and some American countries. The wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) native to Southeast Asia is considered a different species, but most likely represents the ancestor of the domestic water buffalo.

Two extant types of water buffalo are recognized based on morphological and behavioural criteria – the river buffalo of South Asia and further west to the Balkans, Egypt, and Italy, and the swamp buffalo, found from Assam in the west through Southeast Asia to the Yangtze valley of China in the east. The origins of the domestic water buffalo types are debated, although results of a phylogenetic study indicate that the swamp type may have originated in China and was domesticated about 4,000 years ago, while the river type may have originated from India and was domesticated about 5,000 years ago. Water buffalo were traded from the Indus Valley Civilisation to Mesopotamia, in modern Iraq, 2500 BC by the Meluhhas. The seal of a scribe employed by an Akkadian king shows the sacrifice of water buffalo.

Water buffalo (zodiac)

The buffalo is the second animal symbol in the 12-year cycle of the Vietnamese zodiac, taking place of the Ox in the Chinese zodiac. Water buffalo are industrious and patient. In general, the year is slow and steady, appropriate for scientists. The hours of the buffalo are from 1 to 3 am.

See also

References

Water buffalo (disambiguation)

The water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is a domesticated bovid widely kept in Asia, Europe and South America.

Water buffalo can also refer to: