The Niata or Ñata is an extinct breed of dwarf cattle from Uruguay and Argentina.[1]: xxvi It was observed and described by Charles Darwin in the 1830s. One was exhibited at the Segunda Exposición Internacional de Ganadería y Agricultura in Buenos Aires in April 1890. By the early twentieth century the Niata was nearly or completely extinct.
 Photograph of a Niata cow, about 1890 | |
| Conservation status | extinct[1]: xxvi |
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History
editAn early description of the Niata is that from November 1833 by Charles Darwin, who twice saw cattle of this type.[2]: 273 [3]: 146 [4]: 332 [5]: 51
George Ernest Gibson bought two in 1889, one of which was exhibited at the Segunda Exposición Internacional de Ganadería y Agricultura in Buenos Aires in April 1890.[2]: 277
Darwin described the Niata as a true breed, in which mating of a cow and bull resulted in calves of the same type;[6]: 263 a morphometric and genetic study of museum specimens in 2018 found it to conform to modern definitions of a breed.[7] He suggested that the Niata had been eradicated by estancieros who believed it to be poorly adapted to the environment and of little use.[2]: 274 By the early twentieth century it was nearly or completely extinct.[2]: 277
Characteristics
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The Niata differed from other cattle only in its markedly foreshortened skull; it did not display other signs of chondrodysplasia. The shape of the skull did not impede its breathing.[8]
According to Gibson, the usual colour was dun, with black legs.[2]: 277
Both Darwin and Ramón Lista describe the Niata as fierce or wild;[6]: 263 [2]: 274 Gibson discusses a small herd that was "exceedingly tame'".[2]: 277
References
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- ^ a b Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
- ^ a b c d e f g Ernest Gibson (1915). Some Notes on the Niata Breed of Cattle (Bos taurus). Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 85: 273–277. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1915.tb07417.x.
- ^ Charles Darwin (1845). Journal of researches into the natural history and geology of the countries visited during the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle round the world, under the Command of Capt. Fitz Roy, R.N., second edition. London: John Murray. Note: his account of the Niata is not included in the entry for 18 November 1833 in the first publication of the Journal in 1839.
- ^ Charles Darwin (1868). The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, volume II. London: John Murray.
- ^ Barbara G. Beddall (1975). "Un Naturalista Original": Don Félix de Azara, 1746-1821. Journal of the History of Biology 8 (1): 15–66. (subscription required).
- ^ a b [s.n.] (June 1916). "Bull-Dog" Cattle: Niata Breed, Described by Darwin, Becoming Exceedingly Scarce – Presumed Mutation Accounts for Extraordinary Jaw and Face – Inheritance of Peculiarities Is Blended. Journal of Heredity. 7 (6): 263–265. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a110716. (subscription required).
- ^ Kristof Veitschegger, Laura A. B. Wilson, Beatrice Nussberger, Glauco Camenisch, Lukas F. Keller, Stephen Wroe, Marcelo R. Sánchez-Villagra (14 June 2018). Resurrecting Darwin's Niata - anatomical, biomechanical, genetic, and morphometric studies of morphological novelty in cattle. Scientific Reports. 8: 9129 (2018). doi:10.1038/s41598-018-27384-3.
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- ^ [s.n.] (19 June 2018). Research Reveals Secrets of Short-Faced Niata Cow. Sci.News. Archived 24 June 2024.
