Aurochs – Bos taurus

Bos taurusLinnaeus, 1758

Accepted name, Mammal Species of the World 2005

Includes †primigenius (extinct wild ancestor surviving into 17th Century) and indicus; but see Corbet (1978c:206). Studies of mtDNA suggest two independent domestications of cattle (Loftus et al. 1994), taurus and indicus, originating presumably from Eurasiatic and Indian populations. Formal synonymy disputed. Gentry et al. (1996) proposed that majority usage be confirmed by adoption of Bos primigenius as the name for the wild taxon of Aurochsen. They asked the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature to use its plenary powers to rule that the name for this wild species is not invalid by virtue of being antedated by the name based on the domestic form. A ruling has now been made in their favour (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, 2003a). It may still be valid for those who consider B. taurus and B. primigenius to be conspecific to employ the senior name for the name of the species (see Bock, 199... [truncated]

• Wilson, D and Reeder, D. (eds.) 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 3rd ed. -- 2142 pp. Johns Hopkins University Press.