Journal of South American Earth Sciences 42 (2013) 83e90

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Journal of South American Earth Sciences

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First record of Bison antiquus from the Late Pleistocene of southern Mexico
Eduardo Jimnez-Hidalgo a, *, Luca Cabrera-Prez a, Bruce J. MacFadden b, Rosala Guerrero-Arenas a
a

Laboratorio de Paleobiologa, Instituto de Recursos, Campus Puerto Escondido, Universidad del Mar, Km. 2.5 Carretera Puerto Escondido-Oaxaca, Puerto Escondido,
Oaxaca 71980, Mexico
b
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-7800, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 4 May 2012
Accepted 30 July 2012

In Mexico, just 54% of the reported Pleistocene Bison material has been identied to species. Current
paleontological research in northwestern Oaxaca, southern Mexico, has allowed collection of several
specimens of Bison antiquus that are part of the Viko Vijin Local Fauna. B. antiquus had a very wide
geographic distribution, from lowlands to mountainous landscapes of North and Central America. The
B. antiquus record from southern Mexico links their former records from central Mexico and middle
Central America and conrms this wide geographic distribution. The univariate mesowear score of the
B. antiquus specimens from Oaxaca is in the lower extreme of grazers and the upper end of
mixed-feeders, suggesting that they had a less abrasive diet than the modern plains Bison, as has been
observed in other samples of this species from diverse parts of North America. The presence of
B. antiquus in the Viko Vijin L. F. constrains the age of this fossil assemblage within a range from 60 Ka to
11.7 Ka.
2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Bison antiquus
Oaxaca
Artiodactyla
Rancholabrean
Pleistocene
Mexico

1. Introduction
One of the most conspicuous artiodactyls in the Late Pleistocene
faunas from North America is Bison Smith, 1827. It is so common
that it represents the mammalian index fossil of the Rancholabrean
North American Land Mammal Age below 55
Lat. N (Bell et al.,
2004). The genus originated in Asia during the late Pliocene and
dispersed into North America by the early late Pleistocene
(McDonald, 1981).
Because the taxonomic level of subspecies implies a degree of
phylogenetic precision that is rarely found from the fossil record
(Scott and Cox, 2008) we preferred to use specic names for the
diverse Bison taxa. At present, there are six Bison species recognized
in the Quaternary of North America: Bison latifrons, Bison antiquus,
Bison occidentalis, Bison alaskensis, Bison priscus and Bison bison; the
last one still is present in North America, represented by two
subspecies: B. bison bison (the plains bison) and B. bison athabascae
(the wood bison) (McDonald, 1981; Meagher, 1986; Pinsof, 1991).
In Mexico there are several records of Late Pleistocene Bison
remains in the northern states of Baja California Norte, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila and Nuevo Len, as well as

* Corresponding author. Tel.: 52 1 954 111 88 57.

E-mail addresses: eduardojh@zicatela.umar.mx, eduardojh3@yahoo.com.mx
(E. Jimnez-Hidalgo).
0895-9811/$ e see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsames.2012.07.011

in the central states of Jalisco, Nayarit, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes,

San Luis Potos, Morelos, Hidalgo, Estado de Mexico, Puebla and
Distrito Federal. In southern Mexico there are few reports of Bison
from the states of Chiapas and the Yucatn Peninsula, whereas in
Oaxaca there are just two reports of the genus (FerrusquaVillafranca, 1970; Quevedo-Robles and Quevedo de Henell, 2001;
Arroyo Cabrales et al., 2005; Carbot-Chanona and VzquezBautista, 2006). Detailed records of Pleistocene Bison species and
associated fauna are available in Arroyo Cabrales et al. (2005) and
were summarized in Ferrusqua-Villafranca et al. (2010).
Just 54% of all these Mexican Bison records have been assigned
to any of the Quaternary species: B. antiquus is known from some
localities in northwestern and central Mexico, B. alaskensis is
recorded in several localities from central Mexico, B. latifrons is
known from some localities in northwestern and central Mexico
and B. bison has been recorded in northern, northwestern, central
and southeastern Mexico (Arroyo Cabrales et al., 2005; FerrusquaVillafranca et al., 2010). This, together with the meagre record of
this genus from southern Mexico, indicates its poor knowledge in
the country, especially in the southern Mexican states.
Ongoing research of the Pleistocene faunas from northwestern
Oaxaca, southern Mexico, has allowed us to discover several
localities with fossil Bison material. The purpose of this paper is to
describe these cranial and postcranial specimens and to discuss the
paleobiological signicance of these new records from Oaxaca,
southern Mexico.

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E. Jimnez-Hidalgo et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 42 (2013) 83e90

2. Geologic setting
The study area is within the Sierra Madre del Sur physiographic
province and the Tierras Altas de Oaxaca sub-province, between
17
260 -17
550 N and 97
200 -97
400 W, within the Mixteca Alta
region (Fig. 1).
The fossil specimens were collected from silty clay, silty sand,
and ne- and medium-grained sands that were deposited as

oodplain and uvial bar sequences. These sediments overlie

Eocene and Oligocene rocks and Paleogene rocks that unconformable overlie Cretaceous limestones. The fossiliferous beds are
overlain by Quaternary silty to sandy sediments with gravel lenses
(Jimnez-Hidalgo et al., 2011).
The associated fauna from the same beds where the Bison fossils
were collected includes ostracodes, gastropods, bivalves, amphibians, lizards, snakes, glyptodonts, rodents, camels, cervids, equids
and proboscideans, which together constitute the Rancholabrean
Viko Vijin Local Fauna from the Mixteca Alta of Oaxaca, which has
been broadly described (Jimnez-Hidalgo et al., 2011; JimnezHidalgo and Guerrero-Arenas, 2012).
3. Materials and methods

Fig. 1. Relief map of the study area in northwestern Oaxaca showing the main towns
and the Bison antiquus localities Oax-2, Oax-3, Oax-4, Oax-6 and Oax-7.

The fossil specimens described in this paper consist of isolated

upper and lower teeth, a cranium, a partial horn core and several
isolated postcranial elements. The isolated specimens were
collected through surface pickup while the larger ones were
collected in situ with plaster jackets.
The fossils were prepared at Laboratorio de Paleobiologa,
Instituto de Recursos, campus Puerto Escondido, Universidad del
Mar, using standard paleontological techniques. The Bison specimens are housed in the Coleccin Cientca del Laboratorio de
Paleobiologa, campus Puerto Escondido, Universidad del Mar, with
the acronym UMPE.
To identify the Bison bone elements we used the Bison osteology
web-pages from the University of Wyoming and the Colorado State
University (Todd, 2012; Virtual Bison, 2012).
Taxonomic identication of the studied specimens was based on
the character states and measurement ranges described in
McDonald (1981), McDonald and Lammers (2002) and Wilson et al.
(2008).
Cranial measurements follow McDonald (1981); postcranial
measurements follow von den Driesch (1976). The dental nomenclature follows that of Brmann and Rssner (2011).
The measurements of teeth were taken with a caliper as
maximum lengths and widths at the occlusal surface. Upper and
lower teeth are represented by upper and lower case: P/p (premolar),
M/m (molar).
All measurements are expressed in millimeters (mm). In the
molars and premolars measurement abbreviations are: L, length;
W, width. Vertebral measurement abbreviations are: GLc, greatest
length of vertebrae centra; GLPa, greatest length from the prezygapophyses to the postzygapophyses; BPacr, greatest breadth
across the prezygapophyses; BPacd, greatest breadth across the
postzygapophyses; BPtr, greatest breadth across the transverse
processes; HFcr, greatest height of the facies terminalis cranialis;
HFcd, greatest height of the facies terminalis caudalis; BFcr, greatest
breadth of the facies terminalis cranialis; BFcd, greatest breadth of
the facies terminalis caudalis; APs, anteroposterior diameter at the
base of spine.
Humerus measurement abbreviations are: L, length; AP min,
minimum diameter of diaphysis; Trans min, minimum transverse
diameter of diaphysis; RD3, greatest proximal transverse diameter;
RD4, transverse breadth of proximal articular facet; RD9, greatest
proximal anteroposterior diameter.
Abbreviations of measurements of the pelvis are: GL, greatest
length; SB, smallest breadth of the shaft of the ilium; SBI, smallest
breadth across the bodies of the ischia; SH, smallest height of the
shaft of the ilium; SC, smallest circumference of the shaft of the
ilium; LA, length of the acetabulum including the lip.
Additional abbreviations include: C5, fth cervical vertebra; C7,
seventh cervical vertebra; Ka, kiloannum; L. F., Local Fauna; MMMN
V, Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature, Vertebrates; UF, Florida

E. Jimnez-Hidalgo et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 42 (2013) 83e90

85

Museum of Natural History, University of Florida; USA, United

States of America.
4. Systematic paleontology
Order Artiodactyla Owen, 1848
Suborder Ruminantia Scopoli, 1777
Family Bovidae Gray, 1821
Bison Smith, 1827
Bison antiquus Leidy, 1852
4.1. Diagnosis
Male horn cores triangular (isosceles) in cross section and
symmetrical about dorsoventral axis at base; tip cordiform or
triangular in cross section; posterior margin straight; growth
straight along arched longitudinal margin; anteroeposterior plane
nearly parallel with frontal plane; length along upper curve greater
than 200 mm, less than 400 mm. Female horn cores circular to
elliptical in cross section at base; symmetrical about greatest diameter at base; tip elliptical in cross section; posterior margins straight;
growth straight along arched longitudinal axis; plane of greatest
diameter rotated forward from frontal plane; length along upper
curve greater than 125 mm, less than 300 mm (McDonald, 1981).
4.2. Description
4.2.1. Cranium and teeth
The skull UMPE 0074 is robust; the dorsal part of the maxillae,
premaxillae, lacrimals and nasals are not preserved; also, there is
some crushing of the frontal region (Fig. 2.1). Both horn cores are
complete, they are of medium size (380 mm from the base to tip),
straight, downwardly arched and ventral to the frontals (Fig. 2.1,
2.2). The bases of the horn cores are broadly triangular, more
isosceles than scalene and possess moderately developed burrs;
their basal cross sections are not rotated. The horn core tips are
cordiform, they lie well anterior to the occipital plane and are
slightly rotated backwardly. On their distal dorsal part there is
a groove.
The frontals slightly collapsed on their dorsal part, they are
broad and somewhat domed; the frontal and fronto-parietal
sutures are obscured by fusion over most of the dorsal surface of
the skull; the orbits protrude and are ovoid in outline (Fig. 2.1). The
nuchal line is very well developed; the occipital is almost at and
its condyles are wide (Fig. 2.2). The temporalis is very well developed forming two prominent wings. The acoustic meatus is
prominent. The jugal processes are prominent and wing-like on
their ventral part, lying well below the occipital condyles.
The maxillae are broken at the level of the alveolus of P2s; the
facial tuber is well developed. The palatine is widest at the level of
M1 and its foramen is located between the M2 and M3 (Fig. 2.3).
The P3 of UMPE 0074 is crescentic, has well developed styles
and a prominent rib between the styles; it has a slender u-shaped
fossette. The P4s have a semi-lunar outline, the parastyle and
metastyle are prominent; their fossettes are u-shaped and in the P4
UMPE 0013 there is an additional small ovoid posterolabial fossette
that is adjacent to the u-shaped one. Its L 20.1 mm and
W 24.0 mm.
The molars of UMPE 0074 are hypsodont with well-developed
styles and ribs; their fossettes have a u shape with some plications (Fig. 2.4). In all molars the entostyle is well developed and has
a single or double tear outline.
The molar wear displayed by UMPE 0074 indicates that it
belonged to an S3 category of McDonald (1981), that is, a full
mature individual with the M3 metastyle in full wear. This

Fig. 2. Skull UMPE 0074 of Bison antiquus from the Viko Vijin L. F. of Oaxaca. 1. Dorsal
view; 2. Caudal view; 3. Ventral view. Scale bar equals 300 mm. 4. Oclussal view of
right teeth series. Scale bar equals 50 mm.

specimen probably was around 7 years old (Group 8 of Wilson

(1980)) given that their M1s are at, the M1 enamel base is
above the level of alveolus, the M2s are bilophodont with entostyle
joined to main occlusal surface, M3s are fully in wear, with both
crescents not conuent and with the entostyle united with the
main wear surfaces (Wilson, 1980).
The m2 UMPE 0078 has one of the two selenids and part of the
second one; it is hypsodont and with a well-developed rib and style
and u-shaped deep fossettid. Its W 32.8 mm.
In the mandibular fragment UMPE 0017 the diastema is slender,
long and its dorsal border is acute; the mental foramen is large,
deep and ovoid in outline. The alveoli for i3 and c are rounded and
the symphyseal surface has several infolds for articulation. Its
length from the anterior wall of p2 alveolus to the canine alveolus is
124.5 mm.
In UMPE 0018 around 2/3 of the right horn core is present, the
burr is well developed, the core is porous, and is slightly downwardly arched. It has a total length of 320 mm.

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E. Jimnez-Hidalgo et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 42 (2013) 83e90

4.2.2. Postcranial bones

In UMPE 0004 the radius is wide and straight (Fig. 3.1), the
capitular fossa is wide and has a rounded outline with a straight
and low crest in its lateral side; the lateral facet is about half the size
of the capitular fossa. The olecranon is well developed. The ulna of
UMPE 0004 has a keen caudal margin, it is completely fused with
the radius (suggesting and adult individual); its interosseous space

is circular in outline; the articular surface for the humerus has

a circular outline (Fig. 3.1).
The C5 UMPE 0444 is stout, the right cranial and caudal
zygapophyses and the spinous process are missing; the head is
large, convex and ovoid in outline; the centrum is very concave and
rounded in outline; the transverse processes are strong; the
transverse foramina are large and ovoid in outline; the ventral
branches of the transverse processes are triangular and very well
developed (Fig. 3.2). In the fragmented cervical vertebra UMPE
0015 the head also is large (42.75 mm), convex and ovoid in
outline; the lateral processes are about same size as in UMPE 0444.
In the incomplete C7 UMPE 0465, the ventral half of the centrum
is not preserved; the centrum head is ovoid in outline, the prezygapophyses are quadrangular in outline and the postzygapophyses are more rounded; the transverse foramina are
small. The spine is broken at its base. The broken parts of this
specimen reveal a very thin cortical bone compared with the thick
bone observed in UMPE 0444. This indicates that the vertebra
belonged to a juvenile.
The centrum of the fragmentary lumbar vertebra UMPE 0491 is
large and depressed (GLc 85.5 mm); its articular facets are ovoid
in outline (HFcr 5 mm; HFcd 54.1 mm; BFcr 66.5 mm;
BFcd 70 mm).
The specimens of the pelvis, UMPE 0445 and UMPE 0464, are
large and stout, with well-developed muscle scars; the acetabula
are deep, sub circular in outline with a prominent lip; the foramen
obturatum is ovoid in outline.
4.3. Material examined
Locality Oax-2 El Pedernal: UMPE 0018, incomplete right horn
core; UMPE 0013, left P4; UMPE 0017, left mandibular fragment
with the diastema and the alveoli for the canine and the i3; UMPE
0004, right radius-ulna, UMPE 0444, C5 vertebra and UMPE 0015,
fragmentary fth or sixth cervical vertebra. Locality Oax-3 La
Pedrera: UMPE 0074, skull with horn cores and cheek teeth; UMPE
0445, pelvis fragment. Locality Oax-4 Ro Salado: UMPE 0012,
lower molar fragment, UMPE 0078, left m2 fragment; UMPE 0491,
fragmentary lumbar vertebra. Locality Oax-6 Caada del Misterio:
UMPE 0464 almost complete pelvis. Locality Oax-7 Ro Tejupam:
UMPE 0465, incomplete C7 vertebra.
4.4. Occurrence
Rancholabrean (late Pleistocene) of Alaska, Washington, Oregon,
Idaho, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, Kansas,
Indiana, Kentucky, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas
and Florida in USA; Alberta in Canada; Baja California Peninsula,
Estado de Mxico, Jalisco and Puebla in Mxico; Nicaragua, El Salvador (McDonald, 1981; Arroyo Cabrales et al., 2005) and northwestern Oaxaca, southern Mxico.
4.5. Discussion

Fig. 3. Postcranial bones of Bison antiquus from the Viko Vijin L. F. 1. right radius-ulna
UMPE 0004, medial view. 2. Fifth cervical vertebra UMPE 0444, cranial view. Scale bar
equals 50 mm.

The skull UMPE 0074 and the incomplete horn core UMPE 0018
possess the diagnostic features of B. antiquus, such as mediumsized horn cores with straight growth along arched longitudinal
margin, horn core tips cordiform in cross section, posterior margin
of horn cores straight and the anteroeposterior plane of horn cores
is nearly parallel to the plane of frontals (McDonald, 1981). Also,
their measurements are within the range reported for the species
(Table 1).
Additionally, skulls of B. antiquus show a dorsal groove over the
distal 10%e20% of the horn cores and broad domed frontals (Wilson
et al., 2009), such as those observed in UMPE 0074.

E. Jimnez-Hidalgo et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 42 (2013) 83e90

87

Table 1
Male cranial biometrics of the Pleistocene Bison species and the specimen from the Viko Vijin L.F. of Oaxaca. Comparative data from McDonald (1981).
Measurement

UMPE 0074

Spread of horn cores tip to tip

Horn core length, upper curve, tip to burr
Straight line distance, tip to burr, dorsal horn core
Dorso-ventral diameter, horn core base
Minimum circumference, horn core base
Width of occipital at auditory openings
Width of occipital condyles
Depth nuchal line to dorsal margin of foramen magnum
Antero-posterior diameter horn core base
Least width of frontals between horn cores and orbits
Greatest width of frontals at orbits
M1-M3 inclusive alveolar length
Angle of divergence of horn cores, forward from sagittal

Bison antiquus

987
310
290
99.0
326
323
143.8
146
106
308
335
96 left 100.46 right
87

Isolated teeth described above are similar in length, width and

proportions to those of UMPE 0074 and other specimens identied
as B. antiquus and are therefore identied as this species.
The mandibular fragment UMPE 0017 has a p2 - canine length
29% shorter than the one of B. latifrons mandible UF 7559 (length of
176 mm), and instead of the two mental foramina observed in the
Florida specimen, it has only one large foramen. The p2 - canine
length of the Viko Vijin specimen is 10% larger when compared to
the B. occidentalis mandible of specimen MMMN V-1914 (length
of 110 mm). Since UMPE 0017 is intermediate in size between
specimens of B. latifrons and B. occidentalis, and because B. antiquus
is intermediate in size between the afore-mentioned species
(McDonald, 1981), we identied the mandible fragment UMPE 0017
as B. antiquus. As was demonstrated by Wilson (1988), the possession of one or two mental foramina is a variable character in Bison.
Given that the morphology of postcranial bones of the Quaternary Bison species is similar, their identication to species is based
upon the size of their bones. In North America B. latifrons had the
largest body size, followed by B. antiquus, which was larger than B.
occidentalis, while B. bison has the smallest body size (McDonald,
1981).
The C5 UMPE 0444 has larger dimensions than those of B.
occidentalis; it is smaller than B. latifrons measurements (excluding
GLc, which indicates an anteroposteriorly short cervical vertebra,
like C6 or C7 for this B. latifrons specimen), but it is close in size to
B. antiquus vertebrae (Table 2). The close dimensions of this
vertebra to C5 of B. antiquus allow assignment of UMPE 0444 to this
species.
Regarding the C7 UMPE 0465, some of their measurements are
similar to those of B. occidentalis and B. antiquus, but others are
smaller (see Table 2). This C7 from Oaxaca is smaller than the

B. latifrons

B. occidentalis

Range

Mean

Range

Mean

Range

Mean

765e1067
203e364
185e330
81e126
233e392
251e318
132e161
94e134
76e129
276e352
338e400
105.2e106
72
e86

870
279.2
249.7
101.9
324.4
287.9
143.7
111.6
105.6
314.7
371.3
105.6
79.2

1445e2235
551e1090
529e979
107e178
408e669
287e343
140e179
109e141
137e226
299e406
352e444
100e110
62
e84

1789.1
876
805.4
144.9
489.2
322.9
159.5
125.5
164.7
355
407.8
103.9
77.3

626e1055
186e392
175e350
70e114
237e355
238e294
111e151
89e120
77e120
261e348
311e394
90e102
63
e83

779
277.8
248.1
94.6
300.3
262
135
104
98.8
296.6
348
97.3
72.1

cervicals of B. latifrons. The broken portion of the spine and the

missing caudal part of the centrum revealed that the cortical bone
is very thin and the cancelous bone very porous, which suggest that
this vertebra belonged to a young, immature individual. This could
explain why it does not t the dimensions of any of the Pleistocene
Bison species. Given that this specimen was collected from a bed
that correlates with that of the more diagnostic skull described
above, and that the locality from where it proceeds is geographically close to the others bearing B. antiquus specimens, we consider
that the C7 UMPE 0465 belonged to an immature individual of
B. antiquus.
The remaining vertebral fragments are bigger (around 12%)
than those of B. bison. Postcranials of B. antiquus are around
10e15% larger and wider than those of B. bison; because of the close
dimensions between the specimens from Oaxaca and the vertebrae
of B. antiquus, we assign these elements to this species.
Comparing the measurements of the radius-ulna UMPE 0004
with those from different Pleistocene Bison species (Table 3) it can
be observed that their measurements are closer to those of
B. antiquus mean values than those of B. latifrons which are larger,
or the B. occidentalis measurements, which are larger than that of
B. antiquus mean or the specimen from Oaxaca. Therefore, given the
closer dimensions of UMPE 0004 with the mean values of
B. antiquus radius-ulna, the specimen from the Viko Vijin L.F. is
assigned to this species.
The pelvises UMPE 0445 and UMPE 0464 are about 10% larger
than a pelvis of B. occidentalis (Table 4) and stouter, indicating
that they belonged to a larger Bison species. B. antiquus was about
8e10% larger than B. occidentalis (McDonald, 1981), so, the
specimens from the Mixteca can condently be assigned to
B. antiquus.

Table 2
Measurements of Bison vertebrae from the Viko Vijin L. F. and Pleistocne Bison species. Data from Rodda and Baghai (1993); McDonald and Lammers (2002) and Wilson et al.
(2008).
Viko Vijin Bison

GLc
GLPa
BPacr
BPacd
BPtr
HFcr
HFcd
BFcr
BFcd
APs
*

Estimated.

B. occidentalis

B. antiquus (C7)

B. latifrons

UMPE 0444 (C5)

UMPE 0465 (C7)

C5

C7

Gallelli pit Canada

Rancho La Brea, California

Cx

88.53
106.44
e
e
195.6*
64.67
78
42.91
70
e

e
102.29
103.22
94.02
e
57*
e
37.31
e
54.03

62
89.5
113.2
102.6
e
55
57.7
41
48.1
e

57
94.3
109.5
86.3
139.8
59
54.8
43
79.4
e

89.4
e
131
105.5
195
62.9
62
49.6
88
55

69e76
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
45e55

59
e
e
e
e
69
e
61
e
e

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E. Jimnez-Hidalgo et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 42 (2013) 83e90

Table 3
Mean values of radius-ulna measurements in different Bison species and the specimen from Oaxaca. Data from McDonald (1981); McDonald and Lammers (2002) and
Wilson et al. (2008).
Measurement

UMPE
0004

B. occidentalis

B. antiquus

B. latifrons

L
AP min
Trans min
RD3

350e
34.57
50.4
99.6

343.8
35.5
58.5
102.3g

343
33.7
54.5
102.5a, 103.7b,
107.7c, 112.3d
96.7a, 98.7b, 110.8d,
54.9a, 57b, 66.4d,

383.2
45.5
75.6
123e, 136.1f,

RD4
RD9

85.26
59.83

e
e

120.4f
69.1f

Samples:
a
Finley, Wyo.
b
Horner II, Wyo.
c
Rancho La Brea, Calif.
d
Galleli Pit Alta.
e
Costeau Pit, Calif.
f
American Falls, Idaho.
g
Milan, Alta (samples data from Wilson et al., 2008).

5. Geographic distribution, dietary habits and biochronology

B. antiquus has a very wide geographic distribution during the
late Pleistocene, ranging from subarctic Alaska to the lowlands of
Florida and the highlands of central Mexico and Central America

(Fig. 4). The biogeographic regions (Janis et al., 2008) where

B. antiquus has been recorded include the Subarctic, the Pacic
Northwest, California Central, the Great Plains, the Northern and
Southern Basin, the Gulf Coast, central Canada, western and central
Mexico (which also are in the Southern Basin of Janis et al., 2008) as
well as in middle Central America (McDonald, 1981; Arroyo
Cabrales et al., 2005).
The record of B. antiquus from the Viko Vijin L. F. links its former
records of El Salvador, Nicaragua and Valsequillo in Puebla central
Mxico (Fig. 4), which are separated each other by more than
1200 km.
Recent studies of dietary preferences suggest that B. antiquus
had a wide dietary spectrum that includes grazing, grazedominated-mixed feeding and browse-dominated mixed feeding,
depending where their populations were located (Rivals et al.,
2007; Rivals and Semprebon, 2011). This wide spectrum of dietary preferences would allow B. antiquus to live in the diverse
habitats that were present in North and Central America during the
Rancholabrean, which ranged from steppe, tundra, savannah and
woodland to forest (Ray and Adams, 2001).
The B. antiquus from the Viko Vijin L. F. has a mesowear
univariate score of 1.44, which is in the lower extreme of grazers
(plains Bison is on upper extreme, score 2.73) and the upper end of
mixed-feeders; a sample of this species from New Mexico has
a score of 1.31 (Rivals et al., 2007). This suggest that the Oaxacan

Fig. 4. Main Bison antiquus localities in North and Central America. Arrow indicates the Oaxacan record. Data from McDonald (1981) and Arroyo Cabrales et al. (2005).

Table 4
Measurements of the pelvises from Oaxaca and Bison occidentalis from Kenora, Canada (McDonald and Lammers, 2002).
Specimen

GL

GBTi

SBI

GBA

SH

SC

SB

GBTc

LS

LA

LFo

MMMN V-1914
UMPE 464
UMPE 0445

526
579
e

279
e
e

180
225
e

268
e
e

e
63.25
57.5

e
15.7
e

37.0
32.15
e

503

208.6
e
e

89.6
94.69
100.3

100.5

E. Jimnez-Hidalgo et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 42 (2013) 83e90

specimens had a less abrasive diet than modern plains Bison and
that they probably incorporated some browse in their diet or ate
different types of grasses compared with the Recent Bison.
The oldest records of B. antiquus date around 60 Ka and became
extinct at around 11.7 ka (Springer et al., 2009). These absolute
dates from other North American localities with B. antiquus fossils,
allow constraining the age of the Viko Vijin L. F. between 60 Ka as its
maximum age and 11.7 Ka as its youngest one, given that specimens
of B. antiquus have been collected in all the fossil localities of the
study area.
6. Conclusions
Although in Mexico there are several reports of Pleistocene
Bison remains, published detailed description and identication of
species are very scarce.
Fossil specimens from the Viko Vijin L. F. allowed us to identify
B. antiquus in southern Mexico, lling a gap between the Central
American localities and those from central Mexico. This B. antiquus
record is the southern-most in North America.
The Oaxacan skull described in this paper represents, to our
knowledge, the most complete cranial specimen of B. antiquus from
Mexico and Central America.
B. antiquus had a very wide geographic distribution, from
northern North America to middle Central America, ranging from
lowlands to mountainous regions. The inferred dietary preferences
of this species (grazer to mixed feeder) would allow it to live in
several habitats all along North and Central America. The mesowear
score of the Oaxacan specimens (1.44) is similar to those reported
from other North American B. antiquus specimens and suggest
different dietary habits compared with the Recent Bison.
The identication of B. antiquus in the Viko Vijin L. F. allowed us
to restrict the age of this fauna between 60 Ka and 11.7 Ka.
Role of the funding source
Conacyt-Ciencia Bsica projects CB 2007-01 N
78793 and CB
2008-1 N
101626 provided nancial support for this research. The
funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis,
decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Disclosure statement
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Acknowledgments
We express our gratitude to the municipal authorities for the
permits to prospect their lands. We thank Santamara family for
their hospitality during the eldwork in Concepcin Buenavista.
We acknowledge J. Arroyo-Cabrales for sharing with us the Bison
information of the database La mastofauna del Cuaternario tardo
de Mxico. We appreciate the comments and suggestions of O.
Carranza-Castaeda, M.C. Wilson and V. Bravo-Cuevas, which helped to improve this paper; we also thank M.C. Wilson for kindly
providing helpful bison bibliography and F. Vega-Vera for handling
this manuscript. We thank the UMAR authorities for logistic
support.
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