The animal's first scientific name, Bos primigenius, was meant as a Latin translation of the German term Auerochse or Urochs, which was they thought meant "primeval ox" or "proto-ox". Today, ITIS say this name is wrong. They classify aurochs under Bos taurus, the same species as domestic cattle. In 2003, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature "conserved the usage of 17 specific names based on wild species, which are pre-dated by or contemporary with those based on domestic forms" (http://www.iczn.org/BZNSep2006general_articles.htmlArchived 2010-03-12 at the Wayback Machine) confirming Bos primigenius for the Aurochs. Taxonomists who consider domesticated cattle a subspecies of the wild Aurochs should use B. primigenius taurus; the name B. taurus remains available for domestic cattle where it is considered to be a separate species.
The animal's first scientific name, Bos primigenius, was meant as a Latin translation of the German term Auerochse or Urochs, which was they thought meant "primeval ox" or "proto-ox". Today, ITIS say this name is wrong. They classify aurochs under Bos taurus, the same species as domestic cattle. In 2003, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature "conserved the usage of 17 specific names based on wild species, which are pre-dated by or contemporary with those based on domestic forms" (http://www.iczn.org/BZNSep2006general_articles.htmlArchived 2010-03-12 at the Wayback Machine) confirming Bos primigenius for the Aurochs. Taxonomists who consider domesticated cattle a subspecies of the wild Aurochs should use B. primigenius taurus; the name B. taurus remains available for domestic cattle where it is considered to be a separate species.
