Bubalus cebuensis

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

Cebu tamaraw
Temporal range: Pleistocene - Holocene
↓
Scientific classification
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

Anatomy and morphology

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

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

References
  1. 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


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