NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
American Bison
Bos bison Linnaeus, 1758
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Bos bison Linnaeus, 1758
- Name authority
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Common name
- American Bison
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus
- Bos
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderArtiodactyla Owen, 1848
- familyBovidae Gray, 1821
- subfamilyBovinae Gray, 1821
- tribeBovini Gray, 1821
- genusBos Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesBos bison Linnaeus, 1758
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Bos. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| GayalBos frontalis A. B. Lambert, 1804 | BovidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bali CattleBos domesticus Gans, 1915 | BovidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| European WisentBos bonasus Linnaeus, 1758 | BovidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| GaurBos gaurus C. H. Smith, 1827 | BovidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Domestic YakBos grunniens Linnaeus, 1766 | BovidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Wild YakBos mutus (Przewalski, 1883) | BovidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| AurochBos primigenius Bojanus, 1827 | BovidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| KoupreyBos sauveli Urbain, 1937 | BovidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Taurine CattleBos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 | BovidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Caucasian WisentBos caucasicus Satunin in Turkin & Satunin, 1904 | BovidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Bison americanus pennsylvanicus Shoemaker, 1915 Shoemaker, 1915 | synonym |
| Bison bison bison (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Bison bison septemtrionalis Figgins, 1933 Figgins, 1933 | synonym |
| Bison americanus (Linnaeus, 1766) (Linnaeus, 1766) | synonym |
| Bison bison athabascae Rhoads, 1898 Rhoads, 1898 | synonym |
| Bison americanus Brisson, 1762 Brisson, 1762 | synonym |
| Bison bison (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Bison sylvestris Hay, 1915 Hay, 1915 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
North America
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=203618 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:MLPS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.