Megafauna Ghost

Skip Warren - UNT History Major

Spring growth from ground hugging plants has now obscured the feet of Bison antiquus. Not a real one of course as the last of his kind died near the start of the Holocene here in North America. This example is a somewhat wobbly full size abstract sculpted in metal. Heavy. I couldn’t help but think he could be standing exactly where one walked 11,000 years ago. As I stand next to him (I assume it is a “him”) my head falls two feet short of his height at the shoulder. Just about the perfect proportion. The artist has elected to not include the horns for whatever reason. They normally would have had a span of between three to four feet and they were never shed. 

Bison antiquus had two predecessors, Bison priscus and Bison latifrons. Bison priscus managed to migrate from the Russian Steppes over the Bering Land Bridge where a 36,000 year old example was found in Alaska. Bison latifrons has been found as far south as present day Kentucky. Latifrons was a cousin of Antiquus and their existence here in North America actually overlapped. Unlike their cousin, Latifron’s horn span could reach nearly eight feet. Both however could weigh up to 2400 pounds. Their habitat is thought to have been different with Latifrons preferring forested areas (browser) and Antiquus choosing the plains (grazer).

Most are familiar with theories of human predation as being responsible for megafauna extinction. It is much more likely that changing environmental conditions brought during the Holocene is the major culprit. For instance archaeologist Dave Meltzer, using mammoth as example, has suggested that due to the dangers brought about by hunting large game, Clovis people most likely brought down one mammoth in their hunting career and then talked about it the rest of their lives. What is just as interesting are studies done on Antiquus skeletons that suggest dwindling populations brought on inbreeding which caused deformities to develop in skulls, horns and teeth. Ancient animals including man have long shown evidence that tooth health directly affected longevity. Combined with various diseases, predation by large cats and bears, a challenging environment and man, Latifrons and Antiquus lost out in transmitting genes that survived, though their smaller modern cousins Bison bison are alive today.