Junqueira
A rare, long-horned taurine breed from São Paulo, Brazil
The Junqueira is a humpless taurine breed from Brazil, classed as Bos taurus ibericus and formed from crosses of the Caracu with other Brazilian varieties. It has long horns, has been kept in São Paulo since the 18th century, and is now endangered: fewer than a hundred remain, and the breed has been cloned in a laboratory.
- A humpless taurine breed from Brazil, classed as Bos taurus ibericus
- Formed by crossing the Caracu with other Brazilian varieties
- Kept in São Paulo since the 18th century
- Its long horns were worked into berrantes, the horns used by cattle handlers
- Endangered: about 100 animals in 2005, fewer than 100 left in Brazil
What do Junqueira cattle look like?
The Junqueira is a humpless taurine breed, belonging to Bos taurus rather than the humped zebu group, and it is placed in the subspecies Bos taurus ibericus. Its Y chromosomes are submetacentric, a piece of cell detail that supports the same taurine reading. The animals carry long horns, long enough to be worked into berrantes, the horns used by people who handle cattle. The breed was formed by crossing rather than from one old line, and it is a rare Brazilian type, kept in São Paulo.
Where does the Junqueira come from?
The Junqueira belongs to Brazil, and has been kept in São Paulo since the 18th century. It is not an old pure line: the breed came out of crosses between the Caracu and other Brazilian varieties. Being classed as Bos taurus ibericus puts it with the taurine cattle of Iberian type, and the shape of its Y chromosomes points the same way. Its numbers fell over the centuries, so that only about a hundred animals were left by 2005. The breed is now counted among the endangered cattle of Brazil.
How the Junqueira is bred and kept
The breed was made by crossing. Caracu cattle were mated with other Brazilian varieties, and the Junqueira is what came out of that mixture. Genetically it reads as taurine: the animals are classed as Bos taurus ibericus and carry submetacentric Y chromosomes. Keeping has gone on in São Paulo since the 18th century. More recently the breed has been reproduced in the laboratory, where it was cloned by Brazil's agricultural research corporation.
Junqueira, drawn
What the Junqueira is kept for
Long horns were the breed's working product. They were made into berrantes, the horns used by people who work with cattle as a herd is moved. Cattle of this kind have been kept in São Paulo state since the 18th century, and the long horns of the breed were gathered and worked for that purpose. That is the use the breed is remembered for. With fewer than a hundred animals left, the reason for keeping Junqueira cattle has narrowed: the line itself is now what is being conserved.
Numbers, conservation and the herd book
Numbers are very small. About a hundred Junqueira cattle were left in 2005, and the breed is described as endangered, with fewer than a hundred animals remaining in Brazil. That is a narrow base for any breed. Its home is São Paulo, where it has been kept since the 18th century. More recently the Junqueira has been cloned in a laboratory by Brazil's agricultural research corporation, which keeps the genetic line going alongside the living animals.
Questions people ask about Junqueira
Where does the Junqueira come from?
It comes from Brazil, where it has been kept in São Paulo since the 18th century. It is a taurine breed of Iberian type, classed as Bos taurus ibericus, and not a zebu.
What is the Junqueira kept for?
Its long horns were worked into berrantes, the horns used by people who handle cattle. The breed is now so few in number that keeping the line alive is the main reason it is still held, and it has been cloned in a laboratory.
How many Junqueira cattle are left?
About a hundred animals remained in 2005, and the breed is described as endangered, with fewer than a hundred left in Brazil. A laboratory clone of the breed has been produced by Brazil's agricultural research corporation.
Is the Junqueira a zebu breed?
No. The Junqueira is humpless and taurine. Its submetacentric Y chromosomes point to taurine origin, and it is placed in the subspecies Bos taurus ibericus, with the Iberian-type taurine cattle.
What does the Junqueira look like?
It is a humpless breed with long horns. Those horns were the part people valued, since they were made into berrantes. The breed was formed from crosses of the Caracu with other Brazilian varieties and is now very rare.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Junqueira cattle", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryCow rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Sizes, colours and customs differ from one herd, valley or breeder to the next. Folk beliefs are described as tradition, never as advice. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-16.
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