Italian Mediterranean Buffalo

The Italian Mediterranean buffalo is an Italian breed of water buffalo of the river sub-type, and the only indigenous water buffalo breed in Italy, officially recognized in 2000 after a herd-book was opened in 1980. Its exact origin is debated: some researchers trace it to the extinct European wild species Bubalus murrensis based on fossil and genomic evidence, while others argue water buffalo arrived in Italy during Roman times or were introduced later by the Avars or by crusaders returning from Mesopotamia. The breed is black-coated with dark slate-grey skin and black hooves, with bulls standing about 143 centimetres tall and weighing 500 to 600 kilograms, occasionally up to 800, and cows somewhat smaller, and while total albinism can occur it is rarer than in Asian buffalo populations.