Limiana
| Conservation status | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Limiá |
| Country of origin | Spain |
| Distribution | Galicia |
| Traits | |
| Weight | |
| Height | |
| Coat | reddish brown in cows, dark brown to black in bulls, with light dorsal stripe |
| Horn status | horned |
| |
The Limiana or Raza Limiá is a Spanish breed of domestic cattle. It is named for the comarca of A Limia, in the southern part of the Province of Ourense, in Galicia in north-west Spain.[3]: 74 [4]: 95 [5] It is largest of the cattle breeds of Galicia.[6]: 31
It is one of the five Galician breeds that together make up the Morena Gallega grouping of chestnut-coloured cattle, the others being the Cachena, the Caldelana, the Frieiresa and the Vianesa, which with the Alistana-Sanabresa and the Sayaguesa of Castile and León and the extinct Verinesa also form the broader Morenas del Noroeste grouping of similar cattle breeds.[7]: 251
History
In 2002 the total population was 136 animals based on a studbook with high reliability. The number of males used in reproduction was 59 and the number of breeding females was 66. The percentage of females bred pure (mated with a male of the same race) was 100%. There were 460 animals ind 2007 and 861 animals in 2011.
Characteristics
The average weight is 900 kg for males and 650 kg for females and the average height at the withers is 148 cm for males and 140 cm for females. The colour of the cows is brown, darker on head, neck and legs. Bulls have a darker coat colour than the cows, ranging from very dark brown to black, with a light eel stripe and sometimes a light saddle. Both sexes share a lightly coloured mouth.
References
- ^ Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Breed data sheet: Limiá / Spain (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed December 2025.
- ^ Valerie Porter, Ian Lauder Mason (2002). Mason's World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types, and Varieties (fifth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 085199430X.
- ^ Miguel Fernández Rodríguez, Mariano Gómez Fernández, Juan Vicente Delgado Bermejo, Silvia Adán Belmonte, Miguel Jiménez Cabras (editors) (2009). Guía de campo de las razas autóctonas españolas (in Spanish). Madrid: Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino. ISBN 9788449109461.
- ^ Raza bovina Limiá: Datos Generales (in Spanish). Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación. Archived 5 February 2025.
- ^ Luis Planas Puchades (foreword) (2019). Razas de Ganado del Catálogo Oficial de España (in Spanish). Madrid: Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación. Archived 28 August 2025.
- ^ Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.