Taurine cattle
Humpless cattle, Bos taurus, from the aurochs of the Near East: the breeds of Europe, West Africa and East Asia.
Taurine cattle, Bos taurus, are the humpless cattle. They descend from the aurochs of the Near East, tamed in the upper valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates roughly ten and a half thousand years ago, and they spread with early farmers into Europe, North Africa and East Asia. Almost every European breed is taurine, from the Holstein and Jersey to the Highland and Chianina, as are the Wagyu and Hanwoo of East Asia and the N'Dama and Kuri of Africa. In South Asia, the native cattle are zebu instead, though taurine blood has come in through crossbreeding.
Origins in the Near East
Archaeology and ancient DNA point to the northern Fertile Crescent, in what is now south-east Turkey, northern Syria and northern Iraq, as the place where aurochs were first kept and bred around ten and a half thousand years ago. The founding herd seems to have been small. From there, cattle travelled with farmers west along the Mediterranean and up the Danube into Europe, and south into Egypt. Wild aurochs bulls sometimes crossed with domestic cows along the way, leaving traces of local wild ancestry in some European breeds.
How to tell them
Taurine cattle have no hump over the shoulders and usually a small, tight dewlap, with shorter ears than zebu. Their coats are often thicker and they cope better with cold than with heat. They have fewer sweat glands than zebu. Within the taurine family, breeds range from the long-legged Podolic grey cattle to the compact Highland and the tiny Dexter, and from the black Angus to the white Charolais and the pied Holstein.
Taurine cattle in Africa and Asia
West Africa has old taurine breeds of its own: the long-horned N'Dama of Guinea and the short-horned Baoulé, Lagune and others. Many of them tolerate the trypanosomes carried by tsetse fly, which makes them vital where zebu struggle. The Kuri of Lake Chad is another African taurine. In East Asia, the Wagyu of Japan, the Hanwoo of Korea and Mongolian cattle are taurine or mostly so. In India, Holstein and Jersey crosses with native zebu now make up a large share of the dairy herd.
Worth knowing
- Holstein Friesian: The most numerous dairy breed in the world
- Aberdeen Angus: Black polled beef breed from north-east Scotland
- Highland: Shaggy, long-horned cattle of the Scottish Highlands
- Jersey: Small, fawn dairy cow from the island of Jersey
- Chianina: Very tall white breed of Tuscany
- N'Dama: Trypanotolerant West African taurine
- Wagyu: Japanese cattle bred for marbling
- Hanwoo: Native brown cattle of Korea
Sources and further reading
Original text by the EveryCow desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Customs are described as tradition, not as advice. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Taurine on EveryCow
The breeds written up so far, best known first.
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreSenepol
A polled red beef breed from St Croix, built for heat and insectsTaurine · Beef · Heat-tolerant
🇪🇸 SpainMenorquina
A red, hornless dairy breed from the Spanish island of Menorca, prized for Mahón cheese production.Taurine · Dairy · Disease-resistant
🇸🇩 Sudan and 4 moreSanga cattle
The umbrella name for native African cattle, mixing humpless taurine and zebu bloodTaurine · Disease-resistant
🇵🇹 Portugal and 1 moreCachena
A small Iberian breed from northern Portugal and Galicia, kept for beef and formerly for draught work.Taurine · Beef · Docile
🇮🇹 ItalyAosta Black PiedValdostana Pezzata Nera
A short-horned, black-pied dual-purpose breed from the Aosta Valley in ItalyTaurine · Dual-purpose · Thrifty foragers
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreMurnau-Werdenfels
A long-lived brown dairy breed of the Bavarian uplands, milk and beefTaurine · Dairy · Long-lived
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreLuing
A hardy red or dun beef cow from Luing, a Hebridean island, first made in 1947Composite · Beef · Cold-hardy
🇫🇷 FranceVosgienne
A medium-sized French breed from the Vosges mountains, kept for milk and meatTaurine · Dual-purpose · Cold-hardy
🇮🇹 Italy and 3 morePustertaler SprinzenPustertaler Schecken
Rare colour-sided Alpine cattle from South Tyrol: white with brown or black flank patchesTaurine · Dual-purpose
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreKerryBó Chiarraí
A rare black dairy breed from southwest Ireland, one of Europe's oldest milk cattleTaurine · Dairy · Thrifty foragers
🇫🇮 FinlandWestern Finncattle
A red, hornless dual-purpose breed from western Finland, kept for milk and beefTaurine · Dairy · Polled
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreRed Poll
A naturally hornless red English breed, kept for milk and beefTaurine · Dual-purpose · Polled
🇯🇵 JapanJapanese Brown褐毛和種
A small brown beef breed from Kōchi and Kumamoto, one of the four wagyūTaurine · Beef
🇧🇷 BrazilGuzerá
A Brazilian humped breed from Kankrej and Crioulo stock, usually grey or whiteZebu · Beef · Polled
🇸🇪 SwedenVäneko
An endangered Swedish dairy breed, black or red with white, named for a villageTaurine · Dairy
🇪🇪 EstoniaEstonian nativeeesti maatõug
A polled dairy breed from Estonia, yellow-brown to red, with a herdbook since 1914Taurine · Dairy · Polled
🇦🇹 Austria and 1 moreTyrol GreyTiroler Grauvieh
An alpine dual-purpose breed of the Tyrol, milked and fattenedTaurine · Dual-purpose · Cold-hardy
🇦🇹 AustriaTux-ZillertalTux-Zillertaler
A stocky Alpine breed from Tirol, black or red, once bred for cow-fighting contests.Taurine · Beef · Spirited
🇸🇪 SwedenSwedish Red PolledRödkulla
A hornless red Swedish cow kept for milk and meat, once reduced to about 20 animals.Taurine · Dual-purpose · Polled
🇱🇹 LithuaniaLithuanian RedLietuvos žalieji
A red beef breed from Lithuania, bred from Danish Red and local cattleTaurine · Beef · Thrifty foragers
🇦🇹 AustriaCarinthian BlondviehKärntner Blondvieh
An old triple-purpose breed from Carinthia in Austria, white or light yellowTaurine · Triple-purpose
🇫🇷 FranceArmoricaine
A red and white Breton cow kept for milk and meat, once down to forty headTaurine · Dual-purpose
🇩🇪 GermanyVorderwaldVorderwälder Rind
Black Forest breed with a white face and limbs, coloured patches, forward-curving hornsTaurine · Long-lived
🇫🇷 FranceCorse
A small tan cow from Corsica, once the island's plough ox, now reared free-range for beefTaurine · Beef · Thrifty foragers
🇪🇸 SpainPajuna
An endangered Andalusian breed, dark bulls and red-brown cows, once used for draught workTaurine · Draught · Cold-hardy
🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreAlbera
A small cold-hardy breed of the Albera Massif, black or pale, used to clear scrubTaurine · Beef · Cold-hardy
🇫🇷 FranceBretonne Pie Noir
A small pied black and white dairy cow from Brittany, once half a million strongTaurine · Dairy · Thrifty foragers
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreHinterwaldHinterwälder Rind
A small Black Forest cow, white head and pied coat, kept for both milk and beefTaurine · Dual-purpose · Cold-hardy
🇧🇷 BrazilCaracu
A solid-red Brazilian Criollo beef breed from Minas Gerais, humpless and hornedTaurine · Beef
🇯🇵 JapanJapanese Shorthorn日本短角種
A small Japanese beef breed of the north, red, roan or red-pied, horned in both sexesTaurine · Beef
🇦🇲 Armenia and 3 moreCaucasian Brown
A variable brown breed of the Caucasus, kept for milk and for milk with meatTaurine · Dairy
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreSouth Devon
Huge pale-red beef cattle from Devon and Cornwall, once milked and worked as oxenTaurine · Beef
🇵🇹 PortugalRamo GrandeRaça Bovina Ramo Grande
A large red-brown cattle breed from Terceira in the Azores, once used for work and milkTaurine · Triple-purpose · Thrifty foragers
🇮🇪 IrelandIrish MoiledBó Maol
A rare hornless Irish breed, red with a white back stripe, used for milk and beefTaurine · Dual-purpose · Polled
🇸🇪 SwedenBohuskulla
A rare, hornless Swedish mountain breed, usually black or brown and often colour-sidedTaurine · Heritage · Quick and strong
🇺🇦 UkraineBrown Carpathianбура карпатська
A brown dual-purpose breed from the Trans-Carpathian region of UkraineTaurine · Dual-purpose
🇳🇴 NorwayTelemarkTelemarkfe
A small red dairy breed from Telemark in Norway, with a white cross on the backTaurine · Dairy
🇮🇹 ItalyRendena
A dual-purpose Alpine breed from the Val Rendena in Trentino, chestnut to near-black.Taurine · Dual-purpose
🇫🇷 FranceMirandaise
A large, heat-tolerant draught breed from the Gers, now raised for vealTaurine · Draught · Heat-tolerant
🇫🇷 FranceLourdaiseLordés
A rare white Pyrenean breed from near Lourdes, once milk, meat and draught in oneTaurine · Beef
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBeef Shorthorn
A British beef line, split from the dual-purpose Shorthorn in 1958Taurine · Beef
🇨🇳 ChinaYanbian
A humpless yellow breed from north-east China, a draught worker in the rice fieldsTaurine · Draught
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Lithuanian Red: Aleksandrs Timofejevs, CC0, source
- Menorquina: Discasto, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Swedish Red Polled: Ankara, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cachena: Rosino, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Tux-Zillertal: Böhringer Friedrich, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Tyrol Grey: Burkhard Mücke, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Väneko: Philaweb, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Guzerá: Jose Reynaldo da Fonseca, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Telemark: Torstein Frogner, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bohuskulla: Bengt Oberger, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Western Finncattle: MPorciusCato (cropped by Pitke ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vosgienne: Eponimm, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mirandaise: PANDA 81, CC0, source
- Japanese Shorthorn: JIRCAS Library, CC BY 2.0, source
- Luing: Andrew Wood, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Senepol: Buenoperez, Public domain, source
- Aosta Black Pied: Lohen11, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Irish Moiled: No machine-readable author provided. Malcolm Morley~commonswiki assume, Public domain, source
- Ramo Grande: Carlos Luis M C da Cruz, Public domain, source
- Sanga cattle: Just chaos, CC BY 2.0, source
- South Devon: No machine-readable author provided. Malcolm Morley~commonswiki assume, Public domain, source
- Murnau-Werdenfels: Pippo-b, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kerry: Pedroserafin, CC BY 2.5, source
- Red Poll: Poinciana, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Corse: luiginter, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pajuna: DFoidl, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Armoricaine: Yannig.coulomb, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Caracu: Nevinho, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vorderwald: Flominator, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Albera: Tylwyth Eldar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Carinthian Blondvieh: Mefusbren69, Public domain, source
- Bretonne Pie Noir: Tsaag Valren, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rendena: User:Rendena, CC0, source
- Hinterwald: -- Xocolatl 10:55, 26 April 2008 (UTC), Public domain, source
- Lourdaise: Darreenvt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Beef Shorthorn: Robert Scarth, CC BY-SA 3.0, source