Bison bison (Linnaeus 1758)

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Artiodactyla, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 1, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 637-722 : 689

Bison bison (Linnaeus 1758)

[Bos] bison Linnaeus 1758 , Syst. Nat., 10th ed., Vol. 1: 72 .

Type Locality: "Habitat in Mexico, Florida"; identified as " Mexico " by Thomas (1911 a:154); restricted to USA, C Kansas, "Quivera" by Hershkovitz (1957 b); redesignated as USA, E New Mexico, Canadian River valley by McDonald (1981:62) .

Vernacular Names: American Bison.

Distribution: Formerly NW and C Canada, south through USA, to Chihuahua, Coahuila ( Mexico). Exterminated in the wild except in Yellowstone Park, Wyoming ( USA) and Wood Buffalo Park, Northwest Territory ( Canada). Reintroduced widely within native range and in C Alaska.

Conservation: CITES – Appendix II as B. b. athabascae; U.S. ESA – Endangered in Canada as B. b. athabascae; IUCN – Lower Risk (cd).

Discussion: Reviewed by Meagher (1986, Mammalian Species, 266). Bison bison athabascae treated as a distinct taxon by Geist and Karsten (1977) and Van Zyll de Jong (1986), and assigned to † B. priscus by Flerov (1979), but regarded as an ecotype by Geist (1991).