IgD, first demonstrated in humans, has been unequivocally shown to exist in primates and rodents. In addition to IgM a second unique membrane isotype, generally considered to be IgD, has been demonstrated in a number of other species, including dogs and chickens. Because of its assumed widespread presence, it is widely accepted that IgD is phylogenetically conserved and therefore functionally important in B cell maturation. In the present paper, we could not demonstrate IgD on bovine B cells derived from peripheral blood, lymph nodes, spleen and fetal spleen by precipitation with anti-light chain antibodies. This lack of detectable IgD was confirmed in peripheral blood B cells of sheep, and raises questions on the requirement for IgD in cell differentiation and Ig secretion. At present it is not clear whether cattle (and sheep) are an exception in this context. Reports of the presence of IgD in different species are largely based on the assumption that non-IgM surface Ig is most likely IgD. Our data question this extrapolation and stress the need for further isotype characterization of the surface Ig in different species. Lack of surface IgD has been observed in human and mouse B-1 cells, most of which express the surface marker CD5. The possibility that all bovine B cells belong to the B-1 lineage is discussed.