 |
|
| Steppe wisent Temporal range: Pleistocene 1.8 mya – 11,000 ya |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Bison priscus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Bovinae |
| Genus: | Bison |
| Binomial name | |
| †Bison priscus |
|
The steppe bison, or steppe wisent (Bison priscus), is an extinct bison. It lived on steppes in Europe, Central Asia, Beringia, and North America during the Quaternary. It is believed that it evolved somewhere in South Asia, That would mean it appeared at about the same time and region as the aurochs, with which its descendants are sometimes confused.
The steppe wisent became extinct in the Pleistocene. It was replaced in Europe by the modern wisent species. It was replaced in America by Bison latifrons, then later Bison antiquus), and finally the modern American bison.
Steppe wisent occasionally appear in cave painting. They are in the famous Cave of Altamira and Lascaux. They have also been found in naturally ice-preserved form.
