Pseudonovibos spiralis (Artiodactyla: Bovidae): new information on this enigmatic South-east Asian ox

Abstract

Two bovid frontlets with horns collected in 1929 and now housed in the collections of the University of Kansas Natural History Museum (KU) from Suoi Kiet, Binh Tuy Province, Vietnam, were previously identified as koupreys (Bos sauveli). We believe that they are specimens of the recently discovered bovid, Pseudonovibos spiralis Peter & Feiler, 1994. The KU specimens are represented by the posterior half of the frontal bones, the parietals, the horn cores and horns, and the anteriormost supraoccipitals, and are the most complete, best documented, and oldest specimens known of this poorly known species. We believe that both an adult male and an adult female are represented. Although the specimens are fragmentary, they still provide significant information that allows us to describe some aspects of P. spiralis, and they are especially critical to our understanding of the relationships of this animal to other bovids. We propose the English name spiral-horned ox, which reflects both its distinctively shaped horns and close relationship to other wild oxen. The Khmer name, Khting Vor, is also an appropriate common name. Previously overlooked references from the 1880s and 1950s document that the spiral-horned ox was believed to have magical powers over poisonous snakes.