Bison bonasus (Linnaeus 1758)

[Bos] bonasus Linnaeus 1758, Syst. Nat., 10th ed., Vol. 1: 71.

Type Locality: "Habitat in Africa, Asia"; restricted to "Bielowitza, Lithuania " (Poland, Bialowieza Forest) by Lydekker (1913:35).

Vernacular Names: European Bison.

Subspecies::

Subspecies Bison bonasus subsp. bonasus Linnaeus 1758

Subspecies Bison bonasus subsp. caucasicus Turkin and Satunin 1904

Subspecies Bison bonasus subsp. hungarorum Kretzoi 1946

Distribution: Europe, surviving in Germany, Romania and W Russia into 18th Century, in Hungary until about 1790, and in W Caucasus Mtns (Armenia, Georgia, Russia) and Poland until early part of 20th Century (but extinct in East Prussia, now N Poland, in 1755); extinct in the wild but now reintroduced to E Poland, W Russia, and Caucasus Mtns.

Conservation: IUCN – Endangered.

Discussion: Considered conspecific with bison by Bohlken (1967) and Van Zyll de Jong (1986); but not included in B. bison by MacDonald (1981) or Meagher (1986). Reviewed by Flerov (1979).