Phylogeny of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Bison species in Europe and North America

Abstract

Species of the genus Bison, along with many other vertebrate taxa, represented an important part of Pleistocene megafauna. Following the Quaternary extinction event, however, only the American bison (Bison bison) and the European bison or wisent (Bison bonasus) survived to present times. The phylogeny of Bison species from the Late Pliocene to the end of the Middle Pleistocene is still uncertain. In comparison, the availability of genetic data has greatly improved our knowledge of Late Pleistocene and Holocene bison. In recent years, the phylogenetic approach has provided new details and insights into the evolution and phylogeny of the genus, such as i) Bison bison evolved from central North American bison populations and, contrary to earlier assumptions, was not the result of mixing with Beringian bison; ii) in Europe, the Late Pleistocene ancestors of Bison bonasus occupied the same areas as coeval Bison priscus; iii) admixture events between the genera Bos and Bison led to the introgression of Bos mitochondrial DNA into extant Bison bonasus, but the exact evolution of the latter remains unknown.