Bison antiquus, Leidy, 1852

Davis, Matt, Nye, Benjamin D., Sinatra, Gale M., Swartout, William, Sjӧberg, Molly, Porter, Molly, Nelson, David, Kennedy, Alana A. U., Herrick, Imogen, Weeks, Danaan DeNeve & Lindsey, Emily, 2022, Designing scientifically-grounded paleoart for augmented reality at La Brea Tar Pits, Palaeontologia Electronica (a 9) 25 (1), pp. 1-37 : 13-14

Bison antiquus

( Figure 7 )

Appearance. Morphological and genetic data suggest the modern plains bison ( Bison bison ) evolved directly from the ancient bison around 10,000 14 C BP so the two species were likely very similar in appearance and behavior except for the earlier species being larger ( McDonald, J.N. and Lammers, 2002; Shapiro et al., 2004; Wilson et al., 2008). We followed McDonald (1981) who undertook a detailed reconstruction of several North American fossil bison species. Considering life history and appearance patterns common in extant ungulates, he suggested that the ancient bison would have had a much-reduced bonnet and pantaloons (shaggy hair covering the head and front legs) compared to extant plains bison ( Figure 7 ).

Behavior. The large number of ancient bison bones found in the Tar Pits, as well as Paleoindian kill sites, suggest the species lived in large herds numbering in the hundreds of individuals (Stock, 1930; Ben Wheat et al., 1972). Although we never displayed herds this size due to computational constraints, we did show the ancient bison in small groups of conspecifics in our AR experiences.

DAVIS ET AL.: LA BREA TAR PITS PALEOART

Western Camel

Figures

FIGURE 7. Low poly reconstruction of the extinct ancient bison (Bison antiquus). To view this model in 3D, please see the online version of this article.