MammalBase - Accepted taxon: Bison bison

Accepted taxon: Bison bison
Taxon:	Bison bison
Rank:	Species
Higher Classification:	ARTIODACTYLA \| Bovidae \| Bovinae \| Bison
Reference:	Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), JHU Press, 2005.

Fig.1 - Ternary plot of the proximate analysis for the Bison bison diet.
CF (Crude Fibre) 30, ASH (Ash contents) 9, NFE (Nitrogen-Free-Extract) 47, CP (Crude Protein) 12, EE (Ether Extract) 2. See details for the calculations in Lintulaakso, K., Tatti, N. and Žliobaitė, I., 2022. Quantifying mammalian diets. Mammalian Biology, pp.1-15. [DOI]

Table 1. List of Diet Items for Bison bison.
TSN Complete name	Part	Ratio ^a.	Reference(s)
Poaceae	STEM	76.67	Damuth, J…
Magnoliopsida	SHOOT	15.83	Grzimek,B…
Cyperaceae	LEAF	7.50	Grzimek,B…

^a. Standardized values. See details for the calculations in Lintulaakso, K., Tatti, N. and Žliobaitė, I., 2022. Quantifying mammalian diets. Mammalian Biology, pp.1-15. [DOI]

Table 2. List of Standard Traits for Bison bison.
Trait	Selected Value	All Value(s)	Reference(s)
Dietary category: Miljutin 2009	Herbivore	Herbivore	– A. Mysterud, 2000, 'The relationship between ecological segregation and sexual body size dimorphism in large herbivores', Oecologia, vol. 124, no. 1, pp. 40-54, I. J. Gordon, A. W. Illius, 1988, 'Incisor Arcade Structure and Diet Selection in Ruminants', Functional Ecology, vol. 2, no. 1, p. 15, Loison,A., 1999, What factors shape sexual size dimorphism in ungulates?, Evolutionary Ecology Research, M. Clauss, R. R. Hofmann, W. J. Streich, J. Fickel, J. Hummel, 2009, 'Convergence in the macroscopic anatomy of the reticulum in wild ruminant species of different feeding types and a new resulting hypothesis on reticular function', Journal of Zoology, vol. 281, no. 1, pp. 26-38, M. Mendoza, P. Palmqvist, 2008, 'Hypsodonty in ungulates: an adaptation for grass consumption or for foraging in open habitat?', Journal of Zoology, vol. 274, no. 2, pp. 134-142, Marcus Clauss, Matthias Lechner-Doll, Juergen Streich, 2002, 'Faecal particle size distribution in captive wild ruminants: an approach to the browser/grazer dichotomy from the other end', Oecologia, vol. 131, no. 3, pp. 343-349
Dietary category: Eisenberg 1981	Herbivore-Grazer	Herbivore-Grazer, Herbivore-Mixed feeder	– A. Mysterud, 2000, 'The relationship between ecological segregation and sexual body size dimorphism in large herbivores', Oecologia, vol. 124, no. 1, pp. 40-54, I. J. Gordon, A. W. Illius, 1988, 'Incisor Arcade Structure and Diet Selection in Ruminants', Functional Ecology, vol. 2, no. 1, p. 15, Loison,A., 1999, What factors shape sexual size dimorphism in ungulates?, Evolutionary Ecology Research, M. Clauss, R. R. Hofmann, W. J. Streich, J. Fickel, J. Hummel, 2009, 'Convergence in the macroscopic anatomy of the reticulum in wild ruminant species of different feeding types and a new resulting hypothesis on reticular function', Journal of Zoology, vol. 281, no. 1, pp. 26-38, M. Mendoza, P. Palmqvist, 2008, 'Hypsodonty in ungulates: an adaptation for grass consumption or for foraging in open habitat?', Journal of Zoology, vol. 274, no. 2, pp. 134-142, Marcus Clauss, Matthias Lechner-Doll, Juergen Streich, 2002, 'Faecal particle size distribution in captive wild ruminants: an approach to the browser/grazer dichotomy from the other end', Oecologia, vol. 131, no. 3, pp. 343-349

Table 3. List of Standard Measurements for Bison bison.
Measurement	Location	Unit	n Total	n Unknown	n Female	n Male	Min	Mean	Max	SD	Reference(s)
Body Mass (BM)	nan	g	-	-	-	-	-	627,290	-	-	Wimberly,…

Table 4. List of other Measurements ^b. for Bison bison.
Measurement	Location	Unit	n Total	n Unknown	n Female	n Male	Min	Mean	Max	SD	Reference(s)
Length of the Masseteric Fossa	nan	cm	9	9	-	-	-	25	-	-	Quibod, M…
Muzzle Width	nan	cm	9	9	-	-	-	10	-	-	Quibod, M…
Total Length of the Skull	nan	cm	9	9	-	-	-	48	-	-	Quibod, M…

^b. other Measurements. Source Measurements which are not listed on or mapped with the Standard Traits..

Table 5. List of Data Sources for Bison bison.
Taxon	Reference	Match	Status
Bison bison	Mysterud,Atle, 2000, The Relationship between Ecological Segregation and Sexual Body Size Dimorphism in Large Herbivores, Oecologia	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Bison bison	Clauss,M., 2002, Faecal particle size distribution in captive wild ruminants: an approach to the browser/grazer dichotomy from the other end, Oecologia	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Bison bison	Clauss,M., 2010, Convergence in the macroscopic anatomy of the reticulum in wild ruminant species of different feeding types and a new resulting hypothesis on reticular function, Journal of zoology	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Bison bison	Gordon,IJ, 1988, Incisor arcade structure and diet selection in ruminants, Functional Ecology	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Bison bison	Loison,A., 1999, What factors shape sexual size dimorphism in ungulates?, Evolutionary Ecology Research	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Bison bison	Mendoza,M., 2008, Hypsodonty in ungulates: an adaptation for grass consumption or for foraging in open habitat?, Journal of zoology	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Bison bison	Damuth, J. 2010. ABSOLUT 6 a mammalian database compiled by the national center for ecological analysis and synthesis (NCEAS ) workshop on mammalian communities.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Bison bison	Reid,F., 2006, Peterson field guide to mammals of North America,	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Bison bison	Nowak,R. M., 1991, Walker's mammals of the world,	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Bison bison	Grzimek,B., 2003, Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia: Mammals I-V,	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Bison bison	Herberstein, M.E., McLean, D.J., Lowe, E., Wolff, J.O., Khan, M.K., Smith, K., Allen, A.P., Bulbert, M., Buzatto, B.A., Eldridge, M.D. and Falster, D., 2022. AnimalTraits-a curated animal trait database for body mass, metabolic rate and brain size. Scientific Data, 9(1), p.265.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Bison bison	Quibod, M.N.R.M., Gélin, U., van Langevelde, F. and Tomlinson, K.W., 2023. Diet-specific responses of skull traits to aridity gradients in bovids and cervids. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, p.zlad068.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Bison bison	Wimberly, A.N., 2023. Predicting body mass in Ruminantia using postcranial measurements. Journal of Morphology, 284(10), p.e21636.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Bison bison	Lundgren, E.J., Schowanek, S.D., Rowan, J., Middleton, O., Pedersen, R.Ø., Wallach, A.D., Ramp, D., Davis, M., Sandom, C.J. and Svenning, J.C., 2021. Functional traits of the world’s late Quaternary large-bodied avian and mammalian herbivores. Scientific data, 8(1), p.17.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted

Citation for this page: [The MammalBase community 2026. / CC BY 4.0. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7462864 Bison bison , Accessed 16th April 2026 at https://mammalbase.net/me/15969]