biology

List of bovids

List of bovids is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of bovids rather than just read about it. In short: Bovidae is a family of hoofed ruminant mammals in the order Artiodactyla. A member of this family is called a bovid.

Key takeaways

List of bovids belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of bovids to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of bovids from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Bovidae is a family of hoofed ruminant mammals in the order Artiodactyla. A member of this family is called a bovid. They are widespread throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America, and are found in a variety of biomes, most typically forest, savanna, shrubland, and grassland. Bovids range in size from the 38 cm (15 in) long royal antelope to the 3.3 m (11 ft) long gaur, which can reach 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) in weight. Over a billion each of domesticated sheep, cattle, and goats, and over 200 million domesticated water buffalo, 14 million domestic yak, and 300,000 domesticated gayal are used in farming worldwide. Many wild species do not have population estimates, though the impala, springbok, and harnessed bushbuck have population sizes of over one million, while several species of bovid are considered endangered or critically endangered with populations as low as 25. One species, the scimitar oryx, was once extinct in the wild, though populations are now recovering. The bluebuck went extinct in the last 200 years, and the aurochs went extinct 400 years ago. A third extinct species, the red gazelle, potentially never existed, and the kouprey is potentially extinct, with no sightings since 1969. The 146 extant species of Bovidae are split into 53 genera within 10 subfamilies: Aepycerotinae, or the impala; Alcelaphinae, containing the bontebok, hartebeest, wildebeest, and relatives; Antilopinae, containing several antelope, gazelles, and relatives; Bovinae, containing cattle, buffalos, bison, and other antelopes; Caprinae, containing goats, sheep, ibex, serows and relatives; Cephalophinae, or duikers; Hippotraginae, containing the addax, oryx, and relatives; Nesotraginae, or dwarf antelopes; Oreotraginae, or the klipspringer; and Reduncinae, or reedbuck and kob antelopes. Extinct species have also been placed into these subfamilies, as well as the extinct Hypsodontinae, Oiocerinae, and Tethytraginae subfamilies. Over one hundred extinct Bovidae species have been discovered, though due to ongoing research and discoveries the exact number and categorization is not fixed.

Conventions

The author citation for the species or genus is given after the scientific name; parentheses around the author citation indicate that this was not the original taxonomic placement. Conservation status codes listed follow the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Range maps are provided wherever possible; if a range map is not available, a description of the bovid's range is provided. Ranges are based on the IUCN Red List for that species unless otherwise noted. All extinct species or subspecies listed alongside extant species went extinct after 1500 CE, and are indicated by a dagger symbol "†".

Classification

The family Bovidae consists of 146 extant species belonging to 53 genera in 10 subfamilies and divided into hundreds of subspecies. This does not include hybrid species or extinct prehistoric species. Additionally, the bluebuck went extinct in the last 200 years, and the aurochs went extinct 400 years ago.

Bovids The following classification is based on the taxonomy described by Mammal Species of the World (2005), with augmentation by generally accepted proposals made since using molecular phylogenetic analysis.

Subfamily Aepycerotinae

Subfamily Alcelaphinae

Subfamily Antilopinae

Subfamily Bovinae

Subfamily Caprinae

Subfamily Cephalophinae

Subfamily Hippotraginae

Subfamily Nesotraginae

Subfamily Oreotraginae

Subfamily Reduncinae

Notes

References

Sources

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of bovids

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of bovids claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of bovids before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of bovids ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of bovids

In research: List of bovids appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of bovids in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of bovids is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bovidae, Lists of animal species, Lists of artiodactyls, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of bovids outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study List of bovids in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what List of bovids means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain List of bovids out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List of bovids in simple terms?

Bovidae is a family of hoofed ruminant mammals in the order Artiodactyla. A member of this family is called a bovid.

Why does List of bovids matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of bovids?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of bovids.