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| Bison | |
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| American bison/American buffalo (Bison bison) | |
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| European bison/wisent (Bison bonasus) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Eutheria |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Bovinae |
| Genus: | 'bison' Hamilton Smith, 1827 |
| Species | |
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†B. antiquus |
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Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized. The surviving species are the American bison, also known as the American buffalo (although it is only distantly related to the true buffalo), Bison bison (with two subspecies, the plains bison, Bison bison bison, and the wood bison, Bison bison athabascae), found in North America, and the European bison, or wisent (Bison bonasus), found in Europe and the Caucasus. While these species are usually grouped into their own genus, they are sometimes included in the closely related genus Bos,[1] together with cattle, gaur, kouprey and yaks, with which bison have a limited ability to interbreed.
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Description [link]
The American bison and the European wisent are the largest terrestrial animals in North America and Europe. Bison are good swimmers and can cross rivers over half a mile (1 km) wide. Bison are nomadic grazers and travel in herds. The bulls leave the herds of females at 2 or 3 years of age, and join a male herd which is generally smaller than the female herds. Mature bulls rarely travel alone. Both sexes get together for the reproductive season, towards the end of the summer.[2] American bison are known for living in the Great Plains. Both species were hunted close to extinction during the 19th and 20th centuries, but have since rebounded. The American plains bison is no longer listed as endangered, but the wood bison is on the endangered species list in Canada.[3]
Although superficially similar, there are a number of physical and behavioural differences between the American and European bison. The American species has 15 ribs, while the European bison has 14. The American bison has four lumbar vertebrae, while the European has five.[4] Adult American bison are not as rangy in build, and have shorter legs.[5] American bison tend to graze more, and browse less than their European cousins. Their anatomies reflect this behavioural difference; the American bison's head hangs closer to the earth than the European's. The body of the American bison is typically hairier, though its tail has less hair than that of the European bison. The horns of the European bison point through the plane of their faces, making them more adept at fighting through the interlocking of horns in the same manner as domestic cattle, unlike the American bison, which favours butting.[6] American bison are more easily tamed than their European cousins, and breed with domestic cattle more readily.[7]
Genetic history [link]
A 2003 study of mitochondrial DNA indicated four distinct maternal lineages in tribe Bovini:
However, Y chromosome analysis associated wisent and American bison.[8] An earlier study using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting showed a close association of wisent and American bison and probably with yak, but noted that the interbreeding of Bovini species made determining relationships problematic.[9]
During the population bottleneck, American bison were interbred with domestic cattle. Accidental crossings were also known to occur. Generally, male domestic bulls were crossed with buffalo cows, producing offspring of which only the females were fertile. Genetic analysis has found a high degree of intermixture in modern commercial bison herds. Some cattle breeds are intentionally bred with bison to produce, for instance, Beefalo hybrids. Wisent-American bison hybrids were briefly experimented with in Germany (and found to be fully fertile) and a herd of such animals is maintained in Russia all the time. A herd of cattle-wisent crossbreeds (Zubron) is maintained in Poland. First-generation crosses do not occur naturally, requiring caesarean delivery. First-generation males are infertile.
Behavior [link]
Wallowing is a common behavior of bison. A bison wallow is a shallow depression in the soil, either wet or dry. Bison roll in these depressions, covering themselves with mud or dust. Possible explanations suggested for wallowing behavior include grooming behavior associated with moulting, male-male interaction (typically rutting behavior), social behavior for group cohesion, play behavior, relief from skin irritation due to biting insects, reduction of ectoparasite load (ticks and lice), and thermoregulation.[10] In the process of wallowing, bison may become infected by the fatal disease anthrax, which may occur naturally in the soil.[11]
The bison's temperament is often unpredictable. They usually appear peaceful, unconcerned, even lazy, yet they may attack anything, often without warning or apparent reason. They can move at speeds of up to 35 mph (56 km/h) and cover long distances at a lumbering gallop.[12]
Their most obvious weapons are the horns borne by both males and females, but their massive heads can be used as battering rams, effectively using the momentum produced by 2,000 pounds (900 kg) moving at 30 mph (50 km/h). The hind legs can also be used to kill or maim with devastating effect. At the time bison ran wild, they were rated second only to the Alaska brown bear as a potential killer, more dangerous than the grizzly bear. In the words of early naturalists, they were a dangerous, savage animal that feared no other animal and in prime condition could best any foe.[12]
The rutting, or mating, season lasts from June through September, with peak activity in July and August. At this time, the older bulls rejoin the herd, and fights often take place between bulls. The herd exhibits much restlessness during breeding season. The animals are belligerent, unpredictable and most dangerous.[12]
Diet [link]
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Bison have a fairly simple diet. The bison's main food is grass. Bison also eat the low-lying shrubbery that is available. In the winter, bison forage in the snow looking for grass. If there is little grass available, bison have to resort to eating the twigs of shrubs.[citation needed]
Predators [link]
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This section requires expansion. |
Due to their large size, few predators attack bison. However, wolf packs can take down a bison. There are even documented cases of a single wolf taking down bison (Carbyn et al., 1993). Brown bears will also prey on calves, and commonly drive off wolves to take over their kills.[2]
Illness [link]
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This section requires expansion. |
The main cause of illness in bison is malignant catarrhal fever (MCF).[13]
See also [link]
- African buffalo
- American bison (Bison bison)
- Bison antiquus
- Bison latifrons (Giant bison)
- Gaur
- Wood bison
- Bison hunting
- Great bison belt
- Wisent (European bison, Bison bonasus)
- Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
- Antelope Island Bison Herd
- Antelope Island
- Antelope Island State Park
- Wind Cave Bison Herd
- Henry Mountains Bison Herd
- Henry Mountains
- Book Cliffs
References [link]
- ^ Systematic relationships in the Bovini (Artiodactyla, Bovidae). In Zeitschrift für Zoologische Systematik und Evolutionsforschung, 4:264-278., Groves, C. P., 1981. Quoted in Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (editors). 2005. Johns Hopkins University Press: "Bison".
- ^ a b Imagining Head-Smashed-In - Aboriginal Buffalo Hunting on the Northern Plains, free e-book by Jack W. Brink, Archaeology Curator at the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton, Canada. Jack W. Brink spent over 20 years studying aboriginal buffalo hunting in the Great Plains.
- ^ "U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Species Report". https://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/SpeciesReport.do?groups=A&listingType=L&mapstatus=1. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge by Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Great Britain), published by C. Knight, 1835
- ^ Trophy Bowhunting: Plan the Hunt of a Lifetime and Bag One for the Record Books, by Rick Sapp, Edition: illustrated, published by Stackpole Books, 2006, ISBN 0-8117-3315-7, ISBN 978-0-8117-3315-1
- ^ American Bison: A Natural History, By Dale F. Lott, Harry W. Greene, ebrary, Inc, Contributor Harry W. Greene, Edition: illustrated, Published by University of California Press, 2003 ISBN 0-520-24062-6, ISBN 978-0-520-24062-9
- ^ Zoologist: A Monthly Journal of Natural History, By Edward Newman, James Edmund Harting, Published by J. Van Voorst, 1859
- ^ Maternal and Paternal Lineages in Cross-Breeding Bovine Species. Has Wisent a Hybrid Origin?, Edward L. C. Verkaar, Isaäc J. Nijman, Maurice Beeke, Eline Hanekamp and Johannes A. Lenstra, Molecular Biology and Evolution, November 26, 2003
- ^ Phylogeny of bovine species based on AFLP fingerprinting, J B Buntjer, M Otsen, I J Nijman, M T R Kuiper and J A Lenstra, Heredity (2002) 88, 46–51, 7 September 2001
- ^ Wallowing Behavior of American Bison (Bos Bison), B. R. McMillan, M. R. Cottam and D. W. Kaufman. In American Midland Naturalist 144 (1): 159–167. JSTOR 3083019.
- ^ "Anthrax kills bison in southern N.W.T.". CBC.CA. July 8, 2006. https://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2006/07/06/anthrax-nwt-bison.html.
- ^ a b c "American Bison". https://www.nps.gov/archive/wica/Bison.htm.[dead link]
- ^ Durham, Sharon (2010). "Figuring out puzzling animal diseases". Agricultural Research 58 (4): 12–13. https://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/apr10/animal0410.htm.
External links [link]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bison |
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Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Bison. |
https://wn.com/Bison
Bisonó
Bisonó (Municipio de Bisonó) is a small municipality in northwestern Dominican Republic, created in 1962. It lies approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic's second largest city. The administrative centre is in the town of Villa Bisonó.
Geography
Bisonó is located in the Cibao Valley of the Yaque del Norte River. Before the clearance for agriculture and grazing, the area was forested, being in a subtropical dry forest ecosystem. The northern part of the municipality grades into the foothills of the Cordillera Septentrional.
The southern boundary of Bisonó municipality is formed by the Yaque del Norte River. Across the river to the south is the municipal district of La Canela, to the southwest and west is the province of Valverde, to the north is the municipality of Altamira of Puerto Plata Province, to the southeast is the municipality of Villa Gonzalez and to the northeast is the municipal district of El Limon.
Settlements
The major town is Villa Bisonó, often known as Navarrete. It was formally recognized in 1956 and named after a local land owner José Elías Bisonó. The town is at the junction of highways DR-1 and DR-5. The town has several neighborhoods (barrios), including Barrio 27 de Febrero, Barrio Los Candelones, Bario Duarte, Bario La Mella, Barrio Nuevo (Jeremias), Barrio Rotonda, Barrio San Miguel, Barrio Trinitaria, and Jalisco.
Panzer I variants
The Panzerkampfwagen I (PzKpfW I) was a light tank produced in Germany in the 1930s. It was built in several variants and was the basis for a number of variants listed below.
Panzer I light tanks
Originally known as MG Panzerwagen (V Kfz 617) and given the Sonderkraftfahrzeug designation Sd.Kfz.101, the Ausf A was armed with two machine guns in a small turret. The 450 production tanks saw service from 1934 to 1941, last seeing action in Finland.
After initial service the Ausf A was found to be underpowered and the engine prone to overheating. A more powerful engine was fitted and the superstructure transferred to the longer chassis of the kl Pz Bef Wg to produce the Ausf B, a.k.a. LaS Maybach, seeing service from 1935-1943, latterly as a command tank.
The Ausf C light tracked reconnaissance vehicle, a.k.a. PzKpfW I nA or VK601, was a comprehensive re-design of the Pz I, with little commonality with earlier Ausfuhrungen introducing the Schachtellaufwerk (inter-leaved track wheels) used in many later Panzers. Forty Ausf C were built, two being sent to the Eastern Front for evaluation, the remainder were in action during the Normandy invasion of 1944.
Snake
Snakes are elongated, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joints than their lizard ancestors, enabling them to swallow prey much larger than their heads with their highly mobile jaws. To accommodate their narrow bodies, snakes' paired organs (such as kidneys) appear one in front of the other instead of side by side, and most have only one functional lung. Some species retain a pelvic girdle with a pair of vestigial claws on either side of the cloaca.
Living snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica, and on most smaller land masses — exceptions include some large islands, such as Ireland and New Zealand, and many small islands of the Atlantic and central Pacific. Additionally, sea snakes are widespread throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans. More than 20 families are currently recognized, comprising about 500 genera and about 3,400 species. They range in size from the tiny, 10 cm-long thread snake to the reticulated python of up to 6.95 meters (22.8 ft) in length. The fossil species Titanoboa cerrejonensis was 13 meters (43 ft) long. Snakes are thought to have evolved from either burrowing or aquatic lizards, perhaps during the Jurassic period, with the earliest known fossils dating to between 143 and 167 Ma ago. The diversity of modern snakes appeared during the Paleocene period (c 66 to 56 Ma ago). The oldest preserved descriptions of snakes can be found in the Brooklyn Papyrus.
The Beacon Street Collection
The Beacon Street Collection is the second studio album by American rock band No Doubt, released in March 1995. It was released independently by the band under their own record label, Beacon Street Records. It was produced by No Doubt themselves and recorded in a homemade recording studio in the garage of their house on Beacon Avenue in Anaheim, California, from which the album takes its name. Additional recording and mixing were done at Clear Lake Audio in North Hollywood, California with engineer Colin "Dog" Mitchell.
The album was released during a time in which the band were receiving little attention from their record label, Interscope Records, and were not getting a chance to record a second album. Interscope were disillusioned with the band after the commercial failure of their first album, No Doubt. No Doubt had written large numbers of songs and knew that they would not make it onto any Interscope album, so they built their own studio and recorded the album there. Two singles were released from it: "Squeal" and "Doghouse" on 7-inch vinyl.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (season 5)
The fifth season of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation premiered on CBS on September 23, 2004 and ended May 19, 2005. The series stars William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger.
Plot
Greg begins his journey from a lab rat to a field mouse, as the Las Vegas Crime Lab faces a personnel overhaul ("Ch-Ch-Changes"), during the fifth season of CSI. The teams final days together are plagued with more investigations into the insane and the unusual, including the discovery of an alien corpse in Area 51 ("Viva Las Vegas"), a body washed up in a thunderstorm ("Down the Drain"), the kidnapping of a thirteen-year-old girl ("Harvest"), a death at a fumigation ("Crows Feet"), a swingers party ("Swap Meet"), the return of the Blue Paint Killer ("What's Eating Gilbert Grissom?"), and a kidnapping at a hotel ("Formalities"). It's the appearance of evidence mid-trail, however, that causes Ecklie to separate Grissom and Willows' team ("Mea Culpa"), with Catherine, Nick, and Warrick delving into cases such as brain death ("No Humans Involved"), a body in a car ("Who Shot Sherlock?"), a severed head containing a snake ("Snakes"), the death of a bear ("Unbearable"), and a murder involving sports betting ("Big Middle"). The loss of one of their own, however, offers to unite the team once again ("Grave Danger").
