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.
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 3 moreHolstein Friesian
A black and white dairy breed kept worldwide, with red and white lines tooTaurine · Dairy
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreHereford
A red and white beef breed from Herefordshire, England, known for its white face and hardiness.Taurine · Beef · Docile
🇫🇷 France and 3 moreCharolaisCharolaise
A large French taurine beef breed from eastern France, white to cream with pink noses and curved horns.Taurine · Beef · Docile
🇧🇪 Belgium and 3 moreBelgian BlueBlanc-Bleu Belge / Belgisch Witblauw
A muscular beef breed from Belgium known for its blue-grey coat and double-muscling gene.Taurine · Beef · Docile
🇺🇸 United StatesTexas Longhorn
American beef cattle, once feral on Texas ranges, with horn spreads beyond 2.4 mTaurine · Beef · Heat-tolerant
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreChianina
A massive white Italian breed known for beef production and historic draught work in Tuscany.Taurine · Beef · Heat-tolerant
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreGalloway
A polled black beef breed from south-west Scotland with a thick double coatTaurine · Beef · Cold-hardy
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 5 moreBraunvieh
A large Alpine brown dairy breed from Switzerland, known for its strength and high milk yield.Taurine · Dairy · Rich milk
🇭🇺 HungaryHungarian GreyMagyar Szürke
A tall, long-horned Podolic breed from the Hungarian plains, kept for beef and draught work.Taurine · Beef · Marbled beef
🇦🇹 Austria and 1 morePinzgauer
Chestnut Austrian cattle with a broad white stripe along the back and bellyTaurine · Triple-purpose
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 morePiedmontesePiemontese
A white Italian beef breed known for double muscling and premium lean meat.Taurine · Beef · Marbled beef
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreBlonde d'Aquitaine
A big wheat-coated beef breed from south-west France, born of three old draught linesTaurine · Beef
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 3 moreKalmykКалмыцкая
A compact red beef breed of the old Soviet Union, noted for exceptional toughnessTaurine · Beef · Thrifty foragers
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreHanwoo한우
A small, brown taurine breed from Korea, once used for work and now prized for its premium beef.Taurine · Beef · Docile
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan and 1 moreKazakh WhiteheadedҚазақтың ақбас сиыры
A Hereford-like beef breed from Kazakhstan and the lower Volga, horned and hardyTaurine · Beef · Cold-hardy
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreBelted Galloway
A polled Scottish beef breed with a distinctive white belt around its black body.Taurine · Beef · Cold-hardy
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreAbondance
A red and white dairy breed from the French Alps, kept for milk and mountain grazing.Taurine · Dairy · Heat-tolerant
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreEnglish Longhorn
A large horned beef breed from northern England, marked by a white line along the spineTaurine · Beef · Long-horned
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 2 moreUkrainian GreyСіра українська порода
An ancient grey Podolian breed from Ukraine, kept for draught work and meat.Taurine · Beef · Drought-hardy
🇯🇵 JapanJapanese Black黒毛和種
A black-coated Japanese beef breed whose Tajima strain supplies Kobe beefTaurine · Beef
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreMaine-AnjouRouge des Prés
A red and white French beef breed from the Maine country, once a milk and meat animalTaurine · Beef
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreTarentaise
A French alpine breed from the Tarentaise valley, kept for cheese and for crossingTaurine · Dairy · Docile
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreMarchigiana
A large white or grey Italian beef breed from the Marche, once worked as an oxTaurine · Beef
🇮🇹 ItalyMaremmana
A big grey Podolic beef breed from the old marshes of the Maremma in central ItalyTaurine · Beef · Thrifty foragers
🇯🇵 JapanJapanese Polled無角和種
A small black Japanese beef breed, hornless in both sexesTaurine · Beef · Polled
🇵🇹 Portugal and 1 moreCachena
A small Iberian breed from northern Portugal and Galicia, kept for beef and formerly for draught work.Taurine · Beef · Docile
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreSenepol
A polled red beef breed from St Croix, built for heat and insectsTaurine · Beef · Heat-tolerant
🇬🇧 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
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreLuing
A hardy red or dun beef cow from Luing, a Hebridean island, first made in 1947Composite · Beef · Cold-hardy
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreMurnau-Werdenfels
A long-lived brown dairy breed of the Bavarian uplands, milk and beefTaurine · Dairy · Long-lived
🇫🇮 FinlandWestern Finncattle
A red, hornless dual-purpose breed from western Finland, kept for milk and beefTaurine · Dairy · Polled
🇱🇹 LithuaniaLithuanian RedLietuvos žalieji
A red beef breed from Lithuania, bred from Danish Red and local cattleTaurine · Beef · Thrifty foragers
🇦🇹 AustriaTux-ZillertalTux-Zillertaler
A stocky Alpine breed from Tirol, black or red, once bred for cow-fighting contests.Taurine · Beef · Spirited
🇧🇷 BrazilGuzerá
A Brazilian humped breed from Kankrej and Crioulo stock, usually grey or whiteZebu · Beef · Polled
🇫🇷 FranceCorse
A small tan cow from Corsica, once the island's plough ox, now reared free-range for beefTaurine · Beef · Thrifty foragers
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreSouth Devon
Huge pale-red beef cattle from Devon and Cornwall, once milked and worked as oxenTaurine · Beef
🇪🇸 SpainPajuna
An endangered Andalusian breed, dark bulls and red-brown cows, once used for draught workTaurine · Draught · Cold-hardy
🇧🇷 BrazilCaracu
A solid-red Brazilian Criollo beef breed from Minas Gerais, humpless and hornedTaurine · Beef
🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreAlbera
A small cold-hardy breed of the Albera Massif, black or pale, used to clear scrubTaurine · Beef · Cold-hardy
🇯🇵 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
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBeef Shorthorn
A British beef line, split from the dual-purpose Shorthorn in 1958Taurine · Beef
🇫🇷 FranceMirandaise
A large, heat-tolerant draught breed from the Gers, now raised for vealTaurine · Draught · Heat-tolerant
🇨🇳 ChinaYanbian
A humpless yellow breed from north-east China, a draught worker in the rice fieldsTaurine · Draught
🇫🇷 FranceLourdaiseLordés
A rare white Pyrenean breed from near Lourdes, once milk, meat and draught in oneTaurine · Beef
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Maremmana: Zyance, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lithuanian Red: Aleksandrs Timofejevs, CC0, source
- Belted Galloway: Jamain, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cachena: Rosino, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Tarentaise: BlackSlash73, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kazakh Whiteheaded: Горбунова М.С., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Japanese Polled: JIRCAS Library, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tux-Zillertal: Böhringer Friedrich, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Maine-Anjou: The original uploader was Cyrille BERNIZET at French Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Braunvieh: 4028mdk09, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hereford: Hayden Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, source
- Hanwoo: mycrefun, CC0, source
- Pinzgauer: Wald1siedel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Guzerá: Jose Reynaldo da Fonseca, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wagyu: Japanexperterna.se, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Western Finncattle: MPorciusCato (cropped by Pitke ), 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
- Abondance: Walpole, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Senepol: Buenoperez, Public domain, source
- South Devon: No machine-readable author provided. Malcolm Morley~commonswiki assume, Public domain, source
- Kalmyk: not specified, Public domain, source
- Murnau-Werdenfels: Pippo-b, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Piedmontese: Aleks, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ukrainian Grey: Марія Гарбар, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chianina: Monica, CC BY 2.0, source
- Marchigiana: Nicola Romani, CC BY-SA 2.5 it, source
- Blonde d'Aquitaine: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Red Poll: Poinciana, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hungarian Grey: The original uploader was Faludi at Hungarian Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Corse: luiginter, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pajuna: DFoidl, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- English Longhorn: Dave, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Holstein Friesian: Vista Alegre baserria, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Caracu: Nevinho, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Charolais: Forum concoursvaches.fr, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Galloway: GerardM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Belgian Blue: Stoolhog, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Texas Longhorn: Clinton & Charles Robertson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Albera: Tylwyth Eldar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lourdaise: Darreenvt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Beef Shorthorn: Robert Scarth, CC BY-SA 3.0, source