B. taurus Skull Replica measures 21.4 inches. B. taurus Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Made in USA. Known as Domestic Cow
B. taurus, also commonly known as cow or cattle, can be found ranched worldwide as a source of food. In bovids, “cow” usually denotes a female. However, in the case of domestic cattle, “cow” can be used to refer to both males and females.
Cows are grazers feeding on a variety of grains and vegetation. B. taurus descended from the Aurochs, an ancient wild bovine from Asia and Europe. Remains of domesticated cattle have been found dating back to 6,500 B.C.
B. taurus are large quadrupedal ungulate mammals with cloven hooves. Most breeds have horns, which can be as large as the Texas Longhorn or small like a scur. Careful genetic selection has allowed polled (hornless) Bos taurus to become widespread.
Cows are commonly raised as livestock for meat, for milk, and for hides, which are used to make leather. Domestic Cow or Bos taurus are used as riding animals and draft animals (oxen or bullocks, which pull carts, plows and other implements).
Another product of cows is their dung, which can be used to create manure or fuel. In some regions, such as parts of India, cattle have significant religious meaning. Cattle, mostly small breeds such as the Miniature Zebu, are also kept as pets.
Around 10,500 years ago, cattle were domesticated from as few as 80 progenitors in central Anatolia, the Levant and Western Iran.
There are approximately 1.5 billion cattle in the world as of 2018. In 2009, cattle became one of the first livestock animals to have a fully mapped genome.
Cattle raised for human consumption are called beef cattle. Within the beef cattle industry in parts of the United States, the term beef (plural beeves) is still used in its archaic sense to refer to an animal of either sex.
