The names B. sondaicus and B. banteng sometimes have been used in place of B. javanicus. The zebu, a domestic form of cattle from India, and the gayal, a domestic form of gaur from eastern India and Burma, sometimes have been given the respective scientific names B. indicus and B. frontalis. There are no suborbital, inguinal, or interdigital glands. Horns, borne by both sexes, are larger in males, are inserted rather far apart on each extremity of the top of the skull, and are approximately oval in cross section. The occipital area of the skull forms an acute angle with the face, not a right angle as in Bubalus.
Additional information is provided separately for each species.
Males were about one-fourth larger and heavier than females. The anterior part of the body was more massive than the hindquarters, the legs were rather long, the back was straight, and the head was slender. The pointed, sturdy horns were up to 800 mm long. The coat was short and smooth and was denser in winter. The general coloration was some shade of brown.