🐄Cow

Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758

家牛或称黄牛（学名：Bos taurus）是哺乳類偶蹄目牛科牛亚科牛属中一群已經驯化的動物。分为普通牛（B. t. taurus）和瘤牛（B. t. indicus）两个现存亚种和原牛（B. t. primigenius）一个灭绝亚种。普通牛也被称为欧洲牛、特罗斯牛、温带牛；瘤牛也被称为肩峰牛、印地卡斯牛、热带牛。瘤牛在中国古代也被称为封牛、峰牛、犦牛、犎牛等。狭义的“黄牛”有时特指普通牛，与瘤牛并称。广义的“家牛”包括所有驯化的牛类，是黄牛（Bos taurus）、牦牛（Bos grunniens）和水牛（Bubalus bubalis）等的统称。这种群居动物的祖先为原牛，大约8千年前被人类驯化成家养的牲畜。如今地球上生存着13亿只家牛，遍布除了南极洲以外的每一块大陆。家牛同人类的生活极为密切，一般将它们用来作为肉、奶或皮革的来源，在化石燃料大规模使用之前，家牛也是主要的畜力来源之一。为了更好地利用家牛所提供的资源，人类長期進行配種，按其特征可以分为供食用的肉牛及产奶的奶牛，用于耕作的家牛则日渐减少。在人类的文化中，家牛一般占有很高的地位，早期台灣的農家子弟禁吃牛肉，1949年的《印度宪法》与《尼泊尔宪法》甚至禁止宰黃牛。人们大多将其同力量、财富等联系起来，许多地区将家牛视作忠诚、勤劳的象征。不过因为其外形和从事的工作，有时也会被当做卑贱、粗暴的象征。

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Measurements

vs you

≈ 12× your weight

Also called

cattle

Conservation status

Not evaluated

The IUCN Red List has not assessed Bos taurus yet.

Key measurements

Body mass: 750 kg
Body length: not recorded
Shoulder height: 1.28 m
Top speed: not recorded
Bite force: not recorded
Maximum lifespan: 20 years

All measurements ↓

Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Cow

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass

750 kg

AnAge

Details ↓

data quality: questionable

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Shoulder height

1.28 m1.25–1.32 m · typical rangenot stated

Details ↓

"Weight ranges from 147 kilograms to 1363 kilograms, and height from 49-52 inches." Species-level statement for domestic cattle; 49-52 in = 1.245-1.321 m, value is the midpoint. Measurement point not stated (withers by convention). Individual breeds fall well outside this typical band (e.g. dwarf zebu, large draft breeds).

Source: Animal Diversity Web (Univ. Michigan), Bos taurus account (T. Dewey & J. Ng), https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Bos_taurus/ · see citation

Maximum lifespan

20 years

AnAge

Details ↓

data quality: questionable

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Gestation

277 days

AnAge

Details ↓

data quality: questionable

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0