Editing Texas Longhorn (section)

== Characteristics ==

The Longhorn is genetically close to Iberian cattle breeds such as the [[De Lidia]] and [[Retinta]] of Spain and the [[Alentejana cattle|Alentejana]] and [[Mertolenga cattle|Mertolenga]] of Portugal.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kidd|first=K. K.|display-authors=etal|year=1980|title=Immunogenetic and Population Genetic Analyses of Iberian Cattle|journal=Animal Blood Groups and Biochemical Genetics|volume=11|issue=1|pages=21–38|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2052.1980.tb01489.x|pmid=7396241|url=https://www.texaslonghornconservancy.org/Immunogenetic%20%26%20Population%20Genetics%20of%20Iberian%20Cattle%20-%201980.pdf|archive-date=August 15, 2022|access-date=February 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815222134/https://www.texaslonghornconservancy.org/Immunogenetic%20%26%20Population%20Genetics%20of%20Iberian%20Cattle%20-%201980.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Like other [[Criollo cattle]] of the Americas and many breeds of southern Europe, it is principally of [[taurine (cattle)|taurine]] (European) derivation, but has a small admixture of [[indicine]] genetic heritage; this may be a consequence of gene flow across the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] from cattle of African origin dating to before the time of the Spanish Conquest.{{r|mctavish}}

The horns are in some cases very long. In general, the horns of bulls are of moderate length, while those of [[steer (cattle)|steer]]s may be much longer.{{r|cabi|p=313}} In 2022 the [[Guinness Book of Records]] reported the longest spread of cattle horns (on a living animal) to be: {{cvt|323.7|cm|abbr=on}} for a steer called Poncho Via; {{cvt|265.1|cm|abbr=on}} for a cow named 3S Danica; and {{cvt|262.5|cm|abbr=on}} for a bull named Cowboy Tuff Chex. All three were Texas Longhorns.{{r|gwr}}

Coat color is extremely variable. In some 40% of the cattle it is some shade of red, often a light red; the only shade of red not seen is the deep colour typical of the [[Hereford (cattle)|Hereford]]. The [[finching (cattle)|finching]] pattern is common; when the base color is black it is called {{lang|es|zorillo}}, from the Spanish word for '[[skunk]]'.{{r|cabi|p=313}} Other colors include variations of black, blue, brown, cream, dun, grey, yellow or white, either with or without [[brindle|brindling]] (called {{lang|es|gateada}}, from the Spanish word for 'cat'), speckling or spotting.{{r|cabi|p=313}} Speckled and solid-coloured animals are in roughly equal proportion.{{r|tlc}}