Kingdom Animalia Class Mammalia Family Bovidae Scientific name Bubalus cebuensis | Phylum Chordata Order Artiodactyla Subfamily Bovinae Rank Species | |
Similar Bos acutifrons, Bos palaesondaicus, Short‑horned water buffalo, Bubalus murrensis, Pelorovis | ||
The Cebu tamaraw (Bubalus cebuensis) is a fossil dwarf buffalo discovered in the Philippines, and first described in 2006.
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Anatomy and morphology
The most distinctive feature of B. cebuensis was its small size. Large contemporary domestic water buffalo stand two metres (roughly six ft) at the shoulder and can weigh up to one tonne (around 2,000 lbs), B. cebuensis would have stood only 75 cm (about 2 ft 6 in) and weighed about 150 to 160 kg (around 300 lbs), smaller than another dwarf species B. mindorensis.
The fossil specimen is likely Pleistocene or Holocene in age.
Evolutionary history
The fossil was discovered in a horizontal tunnel in soft karst at approximately 50 m elevation in K-Hill near Balamban, Cebu Island, Philippines by mining engineer Michael Armas. The fossil was donated to America's Field Museum where it stayed un-analysed for almost 50 years.