The Higgs Bison, an ancient animal, was recorded on a cave wall that dates back more than 15,000 years ago in a cave in Ardache, France.
The animal was wittingly named after Higgs Boson, a subatomic particle, because it's elusive like its namesake. It is said to be a hybrid of a bison and cattle that lived 12,000 years ago.
With the help of radiocarbon dating, researchers found out that this specie lived with Steppe Bison. Steppe Bison were the only known bison specie to live during the Late Ice Age in Europe.
Alan Cooper of the Australian Center for Ancient DNA explained that the hybrid is the ancestor of modern bison which can be found in Poland and Belarus. He explained that the hybridization was a complete surprise to the him and his colleagues.
He explained that this is not supposed to happen to mammals. He added that the genetic signal of the ancient bison was odd, Science Daily reported.
Cooper explained that the hybrid managed to dominate colder tundra periods. He also explained that they tend to be the largest European specie to survive the Megafaunal extinction.
Researchers were misled by two bison species that don't match for a long time. They now come to realize that there finding is the answer on how cow genes can be found in modern bison.
However, without any skulls the researcher can't reconstruct the animal. Cooper and his colleagues asked help from other cave experts.
They explained that cave men wouldn't have created two bison models if they haven't seen two. Cave men illustrated bisons having long horns and forequarters, as well as, having small horns and bumps, NPR reported
Higgs Bison was first detected by Beth Shapiro of University of California Santa Cruz in 2001. She's happy to report that after fifteen years they managed to get the full story behind it.
The two drawing showed Higgs Bison and Steppe Bison. Researchers agreed that the drawings were remarkable and helpful on their study.
