It is syncerus caffer caffer while water buff is bubalus bubalis from the greek word boufalos. The water buff were discovered first and got the right designation but the cape buff somehow did not register as a buffalo to early zoology. Seems like it should be something like bubalus bubalis asiatic and bubalus bubalis africanis. Just wondering with nothing else to do.

im not an expert in Arabic but I think the word caffer came from "unclean" or something like that. It was also a derogatory word used for Black Africans similar to the famous "N" word we all have to hear about. I have heard it used a few times but it does not seem that common. Certainly it is rude.

A lot of the African animals were named by the early explorers I think. For example I think Selous first named the sable the "fierce antelope" but that never stuck, some did. There are probably some experts on here.

Kaffir (the word the folks over there don’t like) means infidel or unbeliever. It referred to folks who followed traditional beliefs. It is very impolite, and is taken very badly.

Roughly translated, the scientific name for southern African buffalo is “joined horned infidel” or single horned unbeliever.

Afer in Latin means relating to Africa. The added c probably means “of” or something. My Latinus is rusticus...

quote:

My Latinus is rusticus...

Mine is non-existicus!

quote:

syncerus caffer caffer

Google translate:

syncerus = slips

caffer = oaffer

Webster gives no definition for "oaffer"

That's why the latin system was invented for naming species, many different species have the same common name.
The water buffalo and Cape buffalo are not closely related enough to place them in the same genus.

Kafer, or any other spelling that sounds like it, means unbeliever.

The Cape buffalo and the Asiatic water buffalo are clearly two different genera, based on physical morphology and, I suspect there will be a lot of genetic difference.

In earlier times, it was common to lump genera and species and sometimes even families together; Linnaeus classified almost all snakes as Coluber.

The two buffaloes are probably pretty much where they should be.