Buffaloes are large, even-toed ungulates in the genus Bison within the subfamily Bovine. There are two extant and four extinct species recognized. Of the four extinct species, three were North American: Bison antiquus, B. latifrons, and B. occidentalis. The fourth, Bison priscus, ranged across steppe environments from Western Europe, through Central Asia, and onto North America.There are two surviving species: the American bison, Bison bison, found only in North America, is the most numerous. (Although sometimes referred to as a buffalo, it is only distantly related to the true buffalo.) The North American species is composed of two subspecies, the plains bison, Bison bison bison, and the wood bison, Bison bison, which is the namesake of Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada. The European bison Bison bonasus, or wisent is found in Europe and the Caucasus, re-introduced after being extinct in the wild.
|
