What is this animal?

[tomgwyther]

This is an elephant. The male of this species is called a bull; the female, a cow

 

This is a whale. It's male is also called a bull and its female is a cow

 

So what animal is this? its male is a bull; its female a cow (Female pictured) but what do we refer to this animal as?

It could be called a Dometic ungulate, but this colloquial term also include horses and other hoved animals.

The only other options would be to give it its Latin name 'Bos primigenius' but this is a bit of a mouth-full.

Or we could give it it's specific breed name 'Freisian' But this can get complicated as you'd have to know all the different breeds.

Moreover, the other two mammals I've pictured are seldom refered to by their Latin Names, nor by there specific breed.

 

Does anyone know of, or can anyone thnk of a good name for these burger giving, milk producing beasts?

Edited June 23, 2010 by tomgwyther

[Sisyphus]

Well, the plural is cattle. It is kind of absurd that there isn't a singular form.

[ewmon]

Bovine?

[DrDNA]

› Eukaryota

› Fungi/Metazoa group

› Metazoa

› Eumetazoa

› Bilateria

› Coelomata

› Deuterostomia

› Chordata

› Craniata

› Vertebrata

› Gnathostomata

› Teleostomi

› Euteleostomi

› Sarcopterygii

› Tetrapoda

› Amniota

› Mammalia

› Theria

› Eutheria

› Laurasiatheria

› Cetartiodactyla

› Ruminantia

› Pecora

› Bovidae

› Bovinae

› Bos

 

Common strains

Angus

Ayrshire

Beefmaster

Belgian blue, Belgian white and blue

› Belted Galloway

› Black Angus

› Black and white Danish dairy cattle

› Boran

› Brahman

› Brown Swiss

› Charolais

› Crossbred X Angus

› D

› Danshaku-Imo

› Deutsche Schwarzbunte

› Droughtmaster

› F

› Fleckvieh

› Friesian

› Friesian X Jersey

› Hereford, L1 Hereford

› Hereford X Nelore

› Hereford X Simmental

› Holstein

› Holstein-Friesian, Friesian Holstein

› Japanese black, Japanese black cattle

› Jersey

› Korean, Hanwoo, Korean cattle

› Limousin

› Murnau-Werdenfelser

› N'Dama

› Nelore

› Pinzgauer

› Podolian

› Poll Shorthorn

› Qinchuan

› Shiwal

› Simmental

› Steinholtz

› Swedish red and white

>Tarus

› Tharri malir

› White Galloway

› Zebu cattle

[tomgwyther]

Well, the plural is cattle. It is kind of absurd that there isn't a singular form.

 

I thought about calling them cattle, but as you said it's plural and kind of colloquial. Also IIRC catle is from the Latin Catis, meaning property or moveable posesions.

 

Thanks Dr DNA, I didn't realise there were so many varieties of Happy-meal-to-be!

 

Still no easy name for Bos Premigenius.

[Klaynos]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle#Singular_terminology_dilemma

[tomgwyther]

Thanks for the Wiki link Klaynos, it pretty much says it all - in that:

 

"There is no universally used singular form in modern English of "cattle", other than the sex- and age-specific terms such as cow, bull, steer and heifer."

 

The term 'Cow' will just have to do. A conversation involving Cattle, whales and elephants could get confusing, but I've not had a conversation like that in ages!

[ydoaPs]

› Eukaryota

› Fungi/Metazoa group

› Metazoa

› Eumetazoa

› Bilateria

› Coelomata

› Deuterostomia

› Chordata

› Craniata

› Vertebrata

› Gnathostomata

› Teleostomi

› Euteleostomi

› Sarcopterygii

› Tetrapoda

› Amniota

› Mammalia

› Theria

› Eutheria

› Laurasiatheria

› Cetartiodactyla

› Ruminantia

› Pecora

› Bovidae

› Bovinae

› Bos

 

Common strains

Angus

Ayrshire

Beefmaster

Belgian blue, Belgian white and blue

› Belted Galloway

› Black Angus

› Black and white Danish dairy cattle

› Boran

› Brahman

› Brown Swiss

› Charolais

› Crossbred X Angus

› D

› Danshaku-Imo

› Deutsche Schwarzbunte

› Droughtmaster

› F

› Fleckvieh

› Friesian

› Friesian X Jersey

› Hereford, L1 Hereford

› Hereford X Nelore

› Hereford X Simmental

› Holstein

› Holstein-Friesian, Friesian Holstein

› Japanese black, Japanese black cattle

› Jersey

› Korean, Hanwoo, Korean cattle

› Limousin

› Murnau-Werdenfelser

› N'Dama

› Nelore

› Pinzgauer

› Podolian

› Poll Shorthorn

› Qinchuan

› Shiwal

› Simmental

› Steinholtz

› Swedish red and white

>Tarus

› Tharri malir

› White Galloway

› Zebu cattle

 

I vote for 'beefmaster'.

[Moontanman]

I vote for 'beefmaster'.

 

Beefmaster is good, how about Steakem?

[rigney]

Remember the humorous "Where's the beef?" advertising campaign of the 1980s from Wendy's hamburger chain? A cute little old lady, played by 81-year-old Clara Peller, ordered a hamburger at various fast food restaurants. When it was served, she’d lift the bun, wrinkle her nose, and quizzically demand: “Where’s the beef?” Think I'm just gonna go with: "Beef". Aught to cover both sexes without being plural! Male and female I believe are called beeves.

Edited June 27, 2010 by rigney

[Genecks]

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[Mr Skeptic]

We could always call them "moo-moos" and then pretend we're being sophisticated by doing so.

[ydoaPs]

We could always call them "moo-moos" and then pretend we're being sophisticated by doing so.

 

Like how I go get 'num-nums' in the middle of the day?

[Moontanman]

Like how I go get 'num-nums' in the middle of the day?

 

Oh yeah, who gives you num-nums ydoaPs?

[AlphaSheeppig]

We could always call them "moo-moos" and then pretend we're being sophisticated by doing so.

This is exactly the solution my girlfriend and I settled on for this problem. Cow for a female, cattle for a group of females, moo-moo for an unidentified gender, moo-moos for a mixed group.