Describuntur duae subspecies vel oecotypi: Bison bison bison ("bison planitiei"), magnitudine minor, gibbere rotundiori, et Bison bison athabascae ("bison silvestris"), maior, gibbere quadrato.[6][7][8][9][10][11] Praeterea, Bison bison bison in B. b. montanae planitiei septentrionalis et B. b. bison planitiei meridianae fortasse consistit, ut summa sit tres.[9] Quae autem distinctio late non approbatur. Bison silvestris est una ex maximis bovidarum exstantium speciebus feris in mundo, solum a Bove gauroAsiae superata.[12] Inter animalia terrestria in America Septentrionali exstantia, bison est gravissimum et longissimum, secundumque ab altissimo, post Alcem alcem.
Bisonti hieme saetae longae, villosae, atrofuscae, atque aestate saetae leves fuscaeque pallidae sunt. Bisontes maresfeminis multo maiores gravioresque sunt. Phenotypus bisontis silvestris phenotypo bisontis planitiei fortasse est primitivior, cum hic ut videtur se ex mixtura Bisontis occidentalis et Bisontis antiqui evolveret.[13] Bisontes planitiei saepe minores, bisontes silvestres saepe maiores sunt. Maxima longitudo a capite ad clunes est 3.5 metra in maribus et 2.85 metra in feminis; cauda a 30 ad 95 centimetra addit.[13][14][15]Altitudines ad withers a 152 ad 186 centimetra in B. b. bisonte et circa 2 metra in B. b. athabascae variare possunt.[15]Pondera a 318 ad 1179 chiliogrammata variare possunt,[15][16][17][18] a 460 ad 988 chiliogrammata, medianis a 730 ad 792.5 chiliogrammata (B.b. bison), et 943.6 chiliogrammata (B.b.athabascae) in maribus, et a 360 ad 640 chiliogrammata, medianis a 450 ad 497.6 chiliogrammata, in feminis,[13] quamquam minima pondera usitata pondera circa aetatem maturitatis sexualis repraesentant, a duo ad tris fere annos aetatis.[19][20][21][22][23][13] Maximum pondus umquam notum in B. b. bisonte erat 1270 chiliogrammata,[24] sed mares usque ad 1360 chiliogrammata aestimati sunt.[25]B. b. athabascaeB. b. bisonte est multo maior et gravior.[13] Bison captivus pro carne alitus gravis praeter natura esse potest, et maximus bison sic semidomesticus 1724 chiliogrammataponderis fuit.[16]Capita et corpora superiora sunt permagna. Ambobus sexibus sunt brevia cornua curva, quae usque ad 60 centimetra longa et a 90 centimetra ad 124 centimetra lata crescunt,[26][25] et quibus pugnandi causa intra gregem et pro defensione utuntur.
Primum pittacium cursuale imaginem bisonis ferens anno 1898 in Civitatibus Foederatis editum est: 4¢ "Indian Hunting Buffalo," pars seriei commemorativae de Expositione Trans-Mississippiana
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