Scientific name of cow is Bos taurus. Probably, the first attempts of thoughtful selection were made in Ancient Rome. A few centuries later, the centers for improving cattle were the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France and Switzerland. On the basis of local herds cattle breeders began to create cattle with some or other signs.
So there were breeds, that is, genetically resistant varieties that arose as a result of artificial selection.
In the world there are more than 1080 breeds of cows, as well as 121 zebu and 29 breeds of hybrid origin. As a rule, beef breeds contained in larger herds and requiring less care than dairy cattle dominate in regions where vast areas are occupied by pastures, relatively few workers and soil and climatic conditions do not favor agriculture of a more intensive type.
A cow is a large, massive animal whose average weight reaches 750 kg, (it can vary from 147 to 1363 kg), and the growth at the withers ranges from 120 to 150 depending on Breed and individual.
The teeth of cows are adapted for chewing vegetative forages. Young cows have 20 (12 molars and 8 incisors on the lower jaw), and in adults 32 teeth (24 molars and 8 incisors).
