Mark Aaron Balbin and Maxinne Bolodo 

Filipino scientists confirmed that the two subspecies of buffalo are distinct species according to a recent study.

Photo Courtesy of Phys.org

Researchers from the University of the Philippines Diliman, led by Ian Kendrich Fontanilla,  discovered that there are minute differences with the molecular and biological profiles between the riverine buffalo and the swamp buffalo, which both live in the country.

The team used various methods such as DNA extraction and karyotyping, which identified the difference of chromosomes between the two, including distinguishable genetic sequences of each other's genes among others.

For the two breeds' case, they found out that the riverine buffalo contains a higher count of 50 chromosomes, while the swamp buffalo has 48.

Aside from the DNA variations between a riverine buffalo and a swamp buffalo, the researchers also found out their differences in physical characteristics. 

Riverine buffaloes may weigh upwards of one ton, and have curly horns, while swamp buffaloes are smaller and weigh at most 450 kilograms. 

Additionally, crescent-shaped horns are another unique physical characteristic of them in comparison to riverine buffaloes.

Besides the contrasting genetic sequences and chromosome tally, it also explains why crossbreeding could ruin the two breeds’ genetic purity. As farmers seek for increased profit and efficiency, buffaloes would fail to retain their actual genetic identities.

Genetic data also proved how tamaraws were related to swamp buffaloes by identifying their ancestor as a subspecies or different species of wild buffalo from Southeast Asia.

The researchers plan on looking on determining the relationship and potential differences from other species in the water buffalo classification, including the chromosomes of crossbred buffaloes in their future studies.

Although the initial understanding of water buffalos related riverine and swamp variants as subspecies of the other, further research can challenge these widely accepted notion.