Maronesa
(most common name)

(local/other name):
• Raça Bovina Maronesa
(historical breed name):
• Alvanes
• Montanheiro
• Penatas
• Serrano
• Vacas Molares

The Maronesa was thought, as far back as 1835, to be a descendent of the Barrosa with some Mirandesa admixture. Current genetic studies now support this.

In the late 1980s, the breed was thought to be a separate indigenous breed belonging to the Iberian Black cattle group due to its color and morphology resembling the Brava de Lide. However, current genetic studies do not support this.

The Maronesa has been recorded into the Registo Zootécnico (Registry Zootechnical); the Associação de Criadores do Maronês (Association of Breeders of Maronesa) has also been formally established and a herdbook was started in 1989.

The Maronesa is a mountain breed that developed in an area that was known as Terra Quenta, part of the historical province of Trás-os-Montes in northeastern Portugal, which is now the Vila Real District.

The official name of Maronesa is derived from the Serra do Marão, one of the highest mountains in Portugal. Before that, the following local names were also used and may possibly be explained this way:
• Serrano = highlander
• Montanheiro = mountain
• Vacas Molares = cows Molares (the town of Molares is on the other side of Parque Natural do Alvão)
• Alvanes - Serra do Alvao (a mountain) and Parque Natural do Alvão (located inside the area of Serra do Alvao) are part of the Vila Real District
• Penatas - the town and former municipality of Pena is in the Vila Real District

The Maronesa has very long horns that start sideways and then dramatically sweep forward, tilting down and curling upwards at the tips.

The Maronesa coat color was originally black with a reddish dorsal stripe (brown females now predominate the breed). Both sexes have a white muzzleband; the udder and escutcheon of the females also tends to be whitish. Most interesting is that the female calves are born a light fawn color in the same way as Podolian cattle; the male calves are also lighter and both, of course, darken dramatically as they age.

The Maronesa, at one time, replaced the Barrosa as a working breed when potato growing became important around 1930. Today they are still used for draught power and calves are sold for meat.

This page was last updated on: 2023-05-18

You can also go to:

My Daily Cow® Portugal and read about other Portuguese cattle breeds.

The Cow Wall® A-Z Cattle Breed Picture Reference to see other breeds of cattle in the world.