Higgs Bison Hybrid Ancestor

Researchers have proposed that the European bison may have originated through hybridization between the steppe bison and the aurochs, rather than descending from a single straight ancestral line. In that hypothesis, scientists jokingly nicknamed the missing hybrid ancestor the "Higgs bison," borrowing from the "Higgs boson" idea of a long-sought missing piece. The theory matters because it would make the European bison a product of ancient interbreeding.

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