Extinct+Animal

Ancient Bison //(Bison antiquus) // //Figure 1: Ancient bison// The ancient bison is an ancestor of the blue wildebeest. It is said to have lived in Asia approximately 200,000 years ago during the ice age. It was roughly 2 meters in height, 4.75 meters in body length and 2268 kilograms.

**Scientific Classification ** The //Bison antiquus// is the scientific name for the ancient bison, where the word 'antiquss' is a Latin word meaning ancient or old.
 * **Level** || Kingdom || Phylum || Class || Order || Family || Genus || Species ||
 * **Classification** || Animalia || Chordata  || Mammalia  || Artiodactyla  || Bovidae  || Bison || Antiquus ||

**Habitat ** In comparison to the hot climate the blue wildebeest lived in , the ancient bison endured cold, North America weather where there are harsh winters. The ancient bison is very similar to the blue wildebeest when it comes to its behaviour. They are both migratory grazers who live and travel in herds on open woodlands and savannahs.

// Figure 2: Location in which the Ancient Bison used to roam and could be found as well as an example of a North American Savannah. // //Figure 3: An example of the cold and harsh North American winters.//

**Adaptations ** __ Structural/ Physical __ The ancient bison had large horns with a span of one to two meters from tip to tip. It was necessary to have such large and strong horns for protection against its natural predators and for its survival. In comparison to those existing today, its natural predators were some of the most violent; therefore it was beneficial and important to have a reliable and powerful weapon to deal with these predators. The horns were potentially deadly if used on a predator with momentum (e.g. from running at a high speed).

__ Behavioural __ Calves were born in the warmer periods of the year because the better conditions provide plentiful and nutritious food and the calves would not have been able to cope with the harsh winters. These newborns would not have developed fur to control and keep their body temperature during winter. Giving birth to these newborn bisons in warmer conditions assisted in ensuring their survival.

__ Physiological __ <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-align: left;">The ancient bison was forced to slow down its metabolism by 25% from its summer rate to help it overcome the harsh cold winters when vegetation was limited (as it was mostly covered by snow). Because it was consuming less food, it needed to conserve energy for their constant travels. Therefore slowing down its metabolism was crucial for the ancient bison's survival during the winter. <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-align: left;"> //Figure 4: An image with all three adaptions of the Ancient Bison labelled; Structural, Behavioural and Physiological// <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-align: left;">

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The selection pressure that led the Ancient Bison to extinction was human slaughtering. Originally the Native Americans slaughtered them for the purposes of food, clothing, shelter and religion, however by the late 1800’s it was no longer just for such purposes. The slaughtering of these animals became so popular like a sport that the remaining number of bison’s began to reduce drastically from millions to hundreds.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Selection Pressure **

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">**Bibliography**

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 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">Ancient Bison - Bison antiquus. (n.d.). Portal. Retrieved June 19, 2012, from http://carnivoraforum.com/topic/9330910/1/
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">Bison Antiquus. (n.d.). Wikipedia . Retrieved June 19, 2012, from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Bison
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">Bison Antiquus. (n.d.). Wikispaces. Retrieved June 21, 2012, from designeranimals.wikispaces.com/Bison+Antiquus
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">Extinct Bison Fact Sheet. (n.d.). San Diego Zoo Global -- Library. Retrieved June 21, 2012, from http://library.sandiegozoo.org/factsheets/_extinct/bison_extinct/bison_extinct.htm