Bubalus mephistopheles (Short-horned Water Buffalo)

[chinadavid]

do anyone know any more about this animal reported extinct in NE China around 3200BP by Bull & Lawson (2000) in their checklist of world mammals?
or was it just the ancestor of the domestic species?
David Ewbank

[Melanie]

First of all. Bubalis mephistopheles is not a primate but a wild chinese water buffalo. According to Wikipedia it is supposed that is the ancestor of the water buffalo. It be became extinct around 1500 BC.

[another specialist]

*** Archeological evidence shows that domestic buffalo were being used in Zhejiang Province of China, just south of the mouth of the Yangtze River, 6000 - 7000 years ago (although some think that these may have belonged to a separate species, Bubalus mephistopheles, which has been reported as a wild animal from Pleistocene and early historical sites in Henan Province, China). (Nowak 1999)

www.animalinfo.org/species/artiperi/bubaarne.htm

[Peter]

ITIS Standard Report Page: Bubalus mephistopheles

Bubalus mephistopheles Hopwood, 1925
Taxonomic Serial No.: 625122

Taxonomy and Nomenclature
Kingdom: Animalia
Taxonomic Rank: Species
Synonym(s):
Common Name(s): short-horned water buffalo [English]


Taxonomic Status:
Current Standing: valid

Data Quality Indicators:
Record Credibility Rating: verified - standards met

Source: Click here for ITIS report!

[another specialist]

Bubalus mephistopheles is the correct spelling for this species.

Bubalis is an error

[Carlos]

Bubalus mephistopheles Hopwood 1925

Formerly in Northeastern China (Extinct), survived until the Shang Dynasty, 18-12th century BC.

planet-mammiferes.org/

[another specialist]

Bubalus mephistopheles, which has been reported as a wild animal from Pleistocene and early historical sites in Henan Province, China). (Nowak 1999)

www.animalinfo.org/species/artiperi/bubaarne.htm

[another specialist]

anotherspecialist said:

Bubalus mephistopheles is the correct spelling for this species.

Bubalis is an error

I've recorrected all subject titles

[surroundx]

Brunson, Katherine et al. (2016). New insights into the origins of oracle bone divination: Ancient DNA from Late Neolithic Chinese bovines. Journal of Archaeological Science 74: 35-44. [Abstract]

[Sebbe]

The appearance and utilization of cattle in the ancient Heji area: A zooarchaeological case study from the Mazhuang site, Puyang City, Henan.

Based on multiple lines of zooarchaeological evidence for identifying bones of domestic animals, it has been proven that cattle(Bos taurus) were introduced into the Central Plain at the end of the late Neolithic period(2500~2000 BC). They were used as sacrificial animals at the Pingliangtai and Shantaisi sites in Henan Province, but were kept into adulthood or old age at Taosi and Zhoujiazhuang, Shanxi Province, as wealth animals. In addition, some cattle bones have been found at sites in southwestern Shandong Province. However, it remains unclear whether cattle arrived in northern Henan, the area between the Central Plain and southwestern Shandong, during the end of the late Neolithic period, or if it was earlier or later. The ancient Heiji area, which refers to the border region of Henan and Shandong provinces, was an important area for the development of civilization and the formation of early states in ancient China. In this paper, we study the animal bone assemblage(n=727) from the late Longshan period(late Neolithic) site of Mazhuang(35°44'12″N, 115°34″E; 54 m a.s.l.; see Fig. 1), Puyang City, Henan Province, located in the Heji area, to address the questions mentioned above.

Our research methods include taxa identification, quantitative analysis of NISP(number of identified specimens) and MNI(minimum number of individuals), estimations of age at death, and LSI(Log Size Index). Thirteen taxa were identified at Mazhuang site, including Margaritiana sp., Unio douglasiae, Aculamprotula zonata, Phasianus sp., Lepus sp., Canis familiaris, Nyctereutes procyonoides, Sus sp., Sus scrofa domesticus, Cervus nippon, Bos taurus, Bubalus Mephistopheles, Bos sp., and Ovis aries. Small and medium deer were also found. The NISP and MNI counts of mammals are 482 and 49, respectively. Pigs are the largest group among mammals, accounting for an NISP of 39.52% and an MNI of 42.86%. Cattle are the second most common taxon, accounting for an NISP of 36.77% and an MNI of 14.29%. The numbers of other mammals were small.

Our analysis provides various lines of evidence for concluding the Mazhuang people raised cattle during the late Longshan period. Firstly, cattle are the second largest number of mammals, and the NISP of cattle is only a bit less than that of pigs. Secondly, the survivorship based on tooth eruption and wear(n=7) shows 66.67% of cattle were killed at younger than 3.5 years old(Table 2), and the survivorship based on epiphyseal fusion(n=32) indicates only 12.50% of cattle lived beyond 4 years(Fig. 2). Both age profiles suggest such a young-dominated population was probably managed by human management. Thirdly, the range of d-values derived from LSI calculations are -0.1202~-0.0137(Fig. 3, n=23), and the d-value mean of the metric samples yields -0.0689. According to Yu's research, the d-value mean of postcranial skeletons of cattle decreased gradually, from the early Neolithic(0.030709), late Neolithic(-0.038308), to early Bronze Age(-0.076651). The Mazhuang mean is rather close to the value of the early Bronze Age, falling into the range of domestic cattle. Fourthly, the δ13C value of cattle bones shows that their diet was primarily composed of C4 crops, probably provided by humans. Fifthly, there were two male cattle horns(one was relatively complete, Fig. 4 left, and the other was broken into fragments), and one male suid mandible(Fig. 4 right) in the house T1F1. This illustrates that the owners of this house paid special attention to this cattle horn; the fact that it was more complete than others suggests a connection between the cattle and owners. Based on the combination of these phenomena, we conclude that humans raised cattle in northern Henan as early as the peoples living in the Central Plain and southwestern Shandong. This is important for us to further discuss the time, route and spread of domestic cattle in ancient China.

This research also provides evidence for the utilizations of cattle after their initial arrival in the ancient Heji area. The sub-adult dominated population indicates cattle were consumed mainly as meat resources, which was different from the main exploitations in the Central Plain and Shanxi. Instead of ritual uses and wealth symbols, the Mazhuang case presents an alternative explanation for the motivations of people raising cattle at the end of the late Neolithic period in China.

www.dsjyj.com.cn//article/doi/10.11928/j.issn.1001-7410.2022.04.14