The African forest buffalo (Syncerus caffer nanus), also known as the dwarf buffalo or the Congo buffalo, is the smallest subspecies of the African buffalo. It is related to the Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer), the Sudan buffalo (Syncerus caffer brachyceros), and the Nile buffalo (Syncerus caffer aequinoctialis). However, it is the only subspecies that occurs mainly in the rainforests of Central Africa and Western Africa, with an annual rainfall around 1,500 mm (59 in). It has been proposed to represent a distinct species, Syncerus nanus.
The African forest buffalo is a small subspecies of the African buffalo. Cape buffaloes weigh 425 to 870 kg (937 to 1,918 lb), whereas African forest buffaloes are much lighter, weighing in at 250 to 320 kg (550–705 lbs). Weight is not the only differentiation, however; this subspecies has a reddish-brown hide that is darker in the facial area. The shape and size of the horns distinguish African forest buffalo from the other subspecies. African forest buffalo have much smaller horns than their savanna counterparts the Cape, Sudan and Nile buffalo. Cape buffalo horns often grow and fuse together, but African forest buffalo horns rarely fuse.
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