Ancient DNA research has now shown that Ice Age cave artists recorded a previously unknown hybrid species of bison and cattle in great detail on cave walls more than 15,000 years ago. These Hybrid originated over 120,000 years ago in the cold grassland stretching from Europe to Mexico. Recent studies have revealed that the mystery hybrid species eventually became the ancestor of the modern European bison. The University of California, Santa Cruz, Polish bison conservation researchers, and palaeontologists across Europe and Russia, studied ancient DNA extracted from radiocarbon-dated bones and teeth found in caves across Europe, the Urals, and the Caucasus to trace the genetic history of the populations. The researchers found a distinctive genetic signal that was differen't from any species of bison previously examined. The cave paintings demonstrate bison with either long horns and large forequarters or with shorter horns and small humps, more similar to modern European bison.
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November 2016
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