Steppe bison

Taxonomy and evolution

The steppe bison was first named in 1825 by French-German anatomist and naturalist Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus, this publication also notably coined the scientific name of the aurochs (Bos primigenius). The original combination was Urus priscus. Bojanus originally described the species based on series of specimens (syntype) rather than a singular holotype specimen, though he did not describe each specimen individually or provide illustrative figures of them in the paper. In 1918, Hilzheimer decided to make one of the specimens that Bojanus examined, given the name "Example No. 3", as the lectotype specimen, which has been followed by later authors. This specimen, held in the collections of the University of Pavia, is a nearly complete skull from the sediments of the Po Valley in Lombardy, northern Italy. In a 1947 publication, it was stated that at that time "European and Asiatic writers use the name B. priscus almost universally for any fossilized bison skull."

Steppe bison are divided into three chronologically successive subspecies, Bison priscus gigas from the early Middle Pleistocene of Siberia and Eastern Europe, Bison priscus priscus from the late Middle Pleistocene spanning from Western Europe to Siberia, and the Late Pleistocene Bison priscus mediator. There is another Steppe bison subspecies that has been suggested, Bison priscus alaskensis, a North American subspecies ranging from Alaska to Texas, though its taxonomic status has been debated. Some consider it a distinct species, Bison alaskensis.

The steppe bison first appeared during the mid Middle Pleistocene in eastern Eurasia, subsequently dispersing westwards as far as Western Europe. Steppe bison first entered northwest North America (Eastern Beringia, comprising Alaska and Yukon) around 195,000–135,000 years ago during the Penultimate Glacial Period at the end of the Middle Pleistocene, and then entered central North America at the beginning of the Last Interglacial around 130,000 years ago, following the melting of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, with a B. priscus population evolving into long-horned bison (Bison latifrons) by 120,000 years ago, and subsequently a population of B. latifrons into Bison antiquus by 60,000 years ago in central North America. During the Last Glacial Period, steppe bison continued to inhabit Alaska and Yukon, separated from B. latifrons and B. antiquus by the reformed Laurentide Ice Sheet which formed an effective barrier to dispersal by 75,000 years ago, with genetic evidence indicating a second migration of steppe bison into Alaska and Yukon from Asia around 45-21,000 years ago.

Description

Resembling the modern bison species, especially the American wood bison (Bison bison athabascae), adult bull steppe bison could likely reach over 2 m tall at the withers, and over 1000 kg in weight. The steppe bison is also anatomically similar to the European bison (Bison bonasus), to the point of difficulty distinguishing between the two when complete skeletons are unavailable. Like living bison species, the steppe bison had a hump on its back immediately above its front legs.

Skulls of steppe bison are distinguished from those living bison and other extinct Bison species by the shape of their horn cores (the bony inner part of the horn). The horn cores of adult steppe bison generally project laterally outwards to the sides and curve upwards towards their tips. The size of steppe bison horn cores varied between subspecies, with the earliest subspecies Bison priscus gigas having horn cores that spread 1.4-2.1 m tip to tip, with this breadth progressively declining in later subspecies, down to 0.9-1.36 m in Bison priscus priscus, and to less than 0.9 m in the final subspecies Bison priscus mediator, corresponding with a body size decease between B. priscus gigas and B. priscus mediator, though the average breadth of the tips of the horn cores is still on average larger than those of living bison even in Late Pleistocene steppe bison.

The hair of the mummified "Yukagir bison" specimen is similar to living bison, but generally denser with the hair on the head varying from light brown to black depending on position, with the mane being almost black. The body hair of the "Yukagir bison" is generally shorter than the living American bison, consisting of light brown under hairs and black guard hairs.

Palaeoecology

Dental microwear analysis of specimens from across Eurasia and Alaska suggests the steppe bison was a mixed feeder, with its diet including a substantial amount of browse, rather than a strict grazer like the living American bison, although its feeding habits did vary locally and at some sites like La Berbie in France show evidence of predominantly grazing behaviour. Like other bison species, steppe bison are thought to have lived in herds. Likely predators of steppe bison include cave hyenas, whose dens have been found to contain steppe bison remains, cave lions, whose bite marks have been found on the frozen mummified "Blue Babe" specimen from Alaska, scimitar toothed cats (Homotherium) and possibly wolves.

Relationship with humans

Steppe bison are known to have been hunted by Neanderthals during the Middle Paleolithic in Europe. Modern humans are known to have fed on steppe bison during the Last Glacial Period, with their processed remains having been found in Upper Palaeolithic archaeological sites. Steppe bison were depicted by Paleolithic Europeans in cave art, with artists apparently distinguishing between steppe bison (depicted at sites like Lascaux cave, Chauvet Cave and Trois-Frères cave in France), and European bison, which co-occurred in Europe with steppe bison, with suggested depictions of steppe bison more common in early Upper Paleolithic cave art, prior to the Magdalenian, when suggested depictions of European bison became more common. Paleolithic Europeans also depicted bison in a variety of other mediums, such as carvings, though it is difficult to distinguish whether they are depicting European or steppe bison.

Extinction

The steppe bison distribution contracted to the north after the end of the Last Glacial period, surviving into the mid Holocene before becoming extinct as part of the Late Quaternary extinction event. A steppe bison skeleton was dated to 5,578-5327 calibrated years Before Present (c. 3450 BCE) in Alaska. B. priscus remains in the northern Angara River in Asia were dated to 2550-2450 BCE, and in the Oyat River in Leningrad Oblast, Russia to 1130-1060 BCE. The causes for the extinction of the steppe bison and many other primarily megafaunal species remain hotly debated, but the selectivity for large animals suggests that the spread of modern humans played a substantial role.

Discoveries

In early September 2007, near Tsiigehtchic, local resident Shane Van Loon discovered a carcass of a steppe bison which was radiocarbon dated to c. 13,650 cal BP. This carcass appears to represent the first Pleistocene mummified soft tissue remains from the glaciated regions of northern Canada.

In 2011, a 9,300-year-old mummy was found at Yukagir in Siberia.

In 2016, a frozen tail was discovered in the north of the Republic of Sakha in Russia. The exact age was not clear, but tests showed it was not younger than 8,000 years old. A team of Russian and South Korean scientists proposed extracting DNA from the specimen and cloning it in the future.

The steppe wisent is known from Denisova Cave, famous for being the site where the first Denisovan remains were discovered.

References

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