The enigmatic new Indochinese bovid, Pseudonovibos spiralis: an extraordinary forgery

In 1993, the discovery of several pairs of lyre-shaped horns with corrugati ons was recorded in Vietnam and regarded as evidence for a new, large bovid , later referred to as Pseudonovibos spiralis Peter & Feiler, 1994. Despite numerous field investigations made since 1994 in Vietnam and Cambodia, no new anatomical evidence has ever been found, except for two frontlets with their horn cores and horn sheaths. A new investigation has been carried out on six frontlets and based on a histological analysis of the keratin. It s hows that the horns of P. spiralis are merely a skillful forgery made by ca rving and distorting ordinary cow horns. The horns of Pseudonovibos spirali s were, in some cases, positioned back onto the corresponding horn co res o f domestic cow frontlets. The name Pseudonovibos spiralis is thus a junior synonym of Bos taurus, yet it remains valid and available. (C) 2001 Edition s scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.