text: The gaur has a distinct dewlap on the throat and chest. Both sexes have horns, which grow from the sides of the head, curving upwards. Between the horns is a high convex ridge on the forehead. At their bases they present an elliptical cross-section, a characteristic that is more strongly marked in bulls than in cows. The horns are decidedly flattened at the base and regularly curved throughout their length, and are bent inward and slightly backward at their tips. The colour of the horns is some shade of pale green or yellow throughout the greater part of their length, but the tips are black. The horns, of medium size by large bovid standards, grow to a length of .
  The cow is considerably lighter in colour than the bull. Her horns are more slender and upright, with more inward curvature, and the frontal ridge is scarcely perceptible. In young animals, the horns are smooth and polished. In old bulls they are rugged and dented at the base.
  The gaur has a head-and-body length of  with a  long tail, and is  high at the shoulder, averaging about  in females and  in males. At the top of its muscular hump just behind its shoulder, an average adult male is just under  tall and the male's girth at its midsection (behind its shoulders) averages about . Males are about one-fourth larger and heavier than females. Body mass ranges widely from  in adult females and  in adult males. In general, measurements are derived from gaurs surveyed in India. In a sample of 13 individuals in India, gaur males averaged about  and females weighed a median of approximately . In China, the shoulder height of gaurs ranges from , and bulls weigh up to .