Bison schoetensacki schoetensacki

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Mussi, M. and Palombo, M. R. (2001). Human/carnivore interaction in the Middle Pleistocene of Latium (Central Italy): an open question, pp. 67-75. In: Cavarretta, C., Gioia, P., Mussi, M. and Palombo, M. R. (eds.). The World of Elephants – International Congress, Rome. Proceedings of the 1st international congress – Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche, Rome. [automatic download]

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Higgs Bison: Ancient Cave Art Reveals Mysterious Extinct Species

Ancient art by Ice Age cave artists shows a previously unknown hybrid species of bison and cattle in great detail on cave walls more than 15,000 years ago.

The mystery species, known affectionately as the Higgs Bison* because of its elusive nature, originated over 120,000 years ago through the hybridisation of the extinct Aurochs (the ancestor of modern cattle) and the Ice Age Steppe Bison, which existed across the cold grasslands from Europe to Mexico.

Research led by the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD) at the University of Adelaide, published today in Nature Communications, showed the mystery hybrid species which could have been the ancestors of the modern European bison, or wisent, which survives in protected reserves such as the Białowieża forest between Poland and Belarus.

“Finding that a hybridisation event led to a completely new species was a real surprise – as this isn’t really meant to happen in mammals,” says study leader Professor Alan Cooper, ACAD Director. “The genetic signals from the ancient bison bones were very odd, but we weren’t quite sure a species really existed – so we referred to it as the Higgs Bison.”

Read more: www.microfinancemonitor.com/higgs-bison-ancient-cave-art-reveals-mysterious-extinct-species/43204

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Palacio, Pauline et al. (2017). Genome data on the extinct Bison schoetensacki establish it as a sister species of the extant European bison (Bison bonasus). BMC Evolutionary Biology 17: 48.

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Sorbelli, Leonardo et al. (2021). A review on Bison schoetensacki and its closest relatives through the early-Middle Pleistocene transition: Insights from the Vallparadís Section (NE Iberian Peninsula) and other European localities. Quaternary Science Reviews 261: 106933. doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106933 [Abstract]