''Bison schoetensacki'', commonly as the Pleistocene woodland bison or Pleistocene wood bison, was a species of

bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

that lived until from the Early

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

to at least the early

Middle Pleistocene The Chibanian, widely known by its previous designation of Middle Pleistocene, is an age in the international geologic timescale or a stage in chronostratigraphy, being a division of the Pleistocene Epoch within the ongoing Quaternary Period. The ...

from western Europe to southern Siberia. Its presence in the

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

is debated.

Description

''B. schoetensacki'' was generally similar to extant

European bison The European 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 bison, along ...

in shape although there could have been morphological variations among European bisons during late

Early Pleistocene The Early Pleistocene is an unofficial sub-epoch in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, being the earliest division of the Pleistocene Epoch within the ongoing Quaternary Period. It is currently estimated to span the time ...

and

Early Holocene In the geologic time scale, the Greenlandian is the earliest age or lowest stage of the Holocene Epoch or Series, part of the Quaternary. Beginning in 11,650 BP (9701 BCE or 300 HE) and ending 8,276 BP (6237 BCE or 3764 HE), it is the earlies ...

. In comparison to '' B. priscus'', ''B. schoetensacki'' was either smaller or similar in size but with slenderer leg bones and metapodials, and had shorter and differently shaped horns.

Diet

Despite its common name, ''B. schoetensacki'' was probably not a mix-feeder, like the extant

wood bison The wood bison (''Bison bison athabascae'') or mountain bison (often called the wood buffalo or mountain buffalo), is a distinct northern subspecies or ecotype of the American bison. Its original range included much of the boreal forest regions ...

. Instead, dental mesowear of the species shows similar pattern to that of extant

, a

grazer Grazer may refer to: *grazer, an animal that grazes *Grazer, a native or inhabitant of Graz *GRAZER, the shoegaze band GRAZER Astronomy *Earth Grazer, Earth-grazing fireball that enters the Earth's atmosphere and leaves again *Mercury grazer, ast ...

Paleobiology

Fossils have been obtained from

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, and mass excavations from the Paleolithic site of Isernia in Italy, dating back to around 700,000 years ago, indicate ''B. schoetensacki'' was the most heavily targeted animal by human hunters, as European bison likely didn't inhabit the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

s. Ranges of ''B. schoetensacki'' and

steppe bison The steppe bisonSeveral literatures address the species as ''primeval bison''. or steppe wisent (''Bison'' ''priscus'')
– Y ...

presumably overlapped for some extents.

Genetics

A 2017 study which attributed Late Pleistocene European remains to ''B. schoetensacki'' found it to belong to a mitochondrial clade which is the sister group to modern

wisent The European 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 bison, along ...

, and proposed the species as a whole is likely ancestral to modern wisent. However, other studies have disputed this attribution, restricting ''B. schoetensacki'' to Early and

remains.

References

{{Paleo-eventoedungulate-stub Bison Prehistoric mammals of Europe Fossil taxa described in 1910 Prehistoric bovids Pleistocene extinctions