''Bison latifrons'', also known as the giant bison or long-horned bison, is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

species of

bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...

that lived in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

during the

Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as the Upper Pleistocene from a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division ...

epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided b ...

ranging from southern Canada to Mexico. It is noted for its large body size and its distinctive long horns.

Description

Because only skulls and horns of this species have been found well preserved, the size of ''B. latifrons'' is currently not clearly known. Based on leg bones, the mass of ''B. latifrons'' has been estimated to be 25-50 percent larger than that of modern ''B. bison'', making it undoubtedly one of the largest-ever ruminants. The known dimensions of the species are on average larger than any extinct and

extant Extant or Least-concern species, least concern is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Exta ...

bovid The Bovidae comprise the family (biology), biological family of cloven-hoofed, ruminant mammals that includes Bos, cattle, bison, Bubalina, buffalo, antelopes (including Caprinae, goat-antelopes), Ovis, sheep and Capra (genus), goats. A member o ...

s, including both the

American bison The American bison (''Bison bison''; : ''bison''), commonly known as the American buffalo, or simply buffalo (not to be confused with Bubalina, true buffalo), is a species of bison that is endemic species, endemic (or native) to North America. ...

and the

European bison The European bison (: bison) (''Bison bonasus'') or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bi ...

, making it the largest known bovid. Overall, it was probably around in length and stood about or up to tall at the

withers Withers are the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, this ridge is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, catt ...

. With an estimated weight of to , ''B. latifrons'' was one of the largest ruminants ever, rivaled in mass only by the modern

giraffe The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...

and the prehistoric long-horned buffalo '' Syncerus antiquus''. Fossil measurements of '' B. priscus gigas'' indicate the species was potentially analogous to ''B. latifrons'' both in morphology and habitat selection, attaining similar body sizes and horns that were up to apart. The horns of ''B. latifrons'' measured as great as from tip to tip, compared with to in modern '' Bison bison''.

Evolution

''Bison latifrons'' is thought to have evolved in North America from '' Bison priscus'' (sometimes called the steppe bison) another prehistoric species of bison that migrated across the

Bering Land Bridge Beringia is defined today as the land and maritime area bounded on the west by the Lena River in Russia; on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada; on the north by 72° north latitude in the Chukchi Sea; and on the south by the tip of the ...

around 195–135,000 years ago, before dispersing southwards around 130,000 years ago. The earliest fossil ''Bison latifrons,'' as well as one of the oldest well dated bison specimens in central North America, is from the Snowmass site in Colorado, dating to the

Last Interglacial The Last Interglacial, also known as the Eemian, was the interglacial period which began about 130,000 years ago at the end of the Penultimate Glacial Period and ended about 115,000 years ago at the beginning of the Last Glacial Period. It cor ...

(

Sangamonian The Sangamonian Stage (or Sangamon interglacial) is the term used in North America to designate the Last Interglacial (130,000-115,000 years ago) and depending on definition, part of the early Last Glacial Period, corresponding to Marine Isotope St ...

), around 120,000 years ago. It has been suggested that a population of ''B. latifrons'' gave rise to ''

Bison antiquus ''Bison antiquus'' is an extinct species of bison that lived in North America during the Late Pleistocene from over 60,000 years ago until around 10,000 years ago. ''Bison antiquus'' was one of the most common large herbivores in North America d ...

'', the ancestor of modern American bison before 60,000 years ago with the two species co-existing alongside each other.

Habitat and behavior

''Bison latifrons'' ranged across much of North America, extending from southern Mexico to southern Canada, as far west as California and as far east as Florida and the American Midwest. Though it was primarily a grazer, ''B. latifrons'' exhibited a high degree of dietary flexibility and adaptability across its range. Isotopic analysis from specimens found in Florida suggests a largely

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range (roam around) and consume wild vegetations in order to feed conversion ratio, convert the otherwise indigestible (by human diges ...

based diet, while isotopic analysis of specimens from Clark Quarry, Georgia, suggest that these specimens had a mixed feeding diet (both

browsing Browsing is a kind of orienting strategy. It is supposed to identify something of relevance for the browsing organism. In context of humans, it is a metaphor taken from the animal kingdom. It is used, for example, about people browsing open sh ...

and grazing), with their diet varying according to the seasons.

Extinction

While many studies have suggested that the ''B. latifrons'' went extinct around or before 20,000 years ago, a 2022 study reported remains from South Texas dating to around 13,000 years

Before Present Before Present (BP) or "years before present (YBP)" is a time scale used mainly in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events occurred relative to the origin of practical radiocarbon dating in the 1950s. Because ...

.Baskin, J., R. Walls, and R. Thomas. 2022
''Bison antiquus'' and ''B. latifrons'' from the latest Rancholabrean (latest Pleistocene), Nueces River Valley, South Texas.
''New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin'' 88: 213. Pressure from human hunting may have played a role in the extinction of ''B. latifrons''.Valerius Geist, 1996, Buffalo Nation, "The Advent of a Giant Bison", pp.22-30,

Voyageur Press The Quarto Group is a global illustrated book publishing group founded in 1976. It is domiciled in the United States and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Quarto creates and sells illustrated books for adults and children, across 50 countri ...

References

External links

At Paleocraft.comCast at Royal Saskatchewan Museum
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1055883 Bison Prehistoric bovids Pleistocene Artiodactyla Pleistocene mammals of North America Prehistoric mammals of North America Fossil taxa described in 1825 Mammals described in 1825