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Bubalus cebuensis

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(Redirected from Cebu tamaraw)

Cebu tamaraw
Temporal range: Pleistocene - Holocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Bovinae
Genus: Bubalus
Species:
B. cebuensis
Binomial name
Bubalus cebuensis
Croft, Heaney, Flynn, and Bautista, 2006

The Cebu tamaraw (Bubalus cebuensis) is a fossil dwarf buffalo discovered in the Philippines, and first described in 2006.

Anatomy and morphology

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The most distinctive feature of B. cebuensis was its small size. Large contemporary domestic water buffalo stand 2 m (roughly 6 ft) at the shoulder and can weigh up to 1 tonne (around 2,000 lb), B. cebuensis would have stood only 75 cm (about 2 ft 6 in) and weighed about 150 to 160 kg (around 300 lb), smaller than another dwarf species B. mindorensis.[1][2]

The fossil specimen is likely Pleistocene or Holocene in age.[1]

Evolutionary history

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The fossil was discovered in a horizontal tunnel in soft karst around 50 m elevation in K-Hill near Balamban, Cebu Island, the Philippines, by mining engineer Michael Armas.[3] The fossil was donated to America's Field Museum, where it stayed unanalyzed for almost 50 years.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Croft, D.A. L. R. Heaney, J. J. Flynn, and A. P. Bautista. 2006. FOSSIL REMAINS OF A NEW, DIMINUTIVE BUBALUS (ARTIODACTYLA: BOVIDAE: BOVINI) FROM CEBU ISLAND, PHILIPPINES. Journal of Mammalogy 87:1037–1051
  2. ^ "New Dwarf Buffalo Discovered By Chance In The Philippines". TerraDaily. October 18, 2006.
  3. ^ New dwarf buffalo discovered by chance in the Philippines, EurekAlert, October 17, 2006