Frozen Fauna of the Mammoth Steppe: The Story of Blue Babe by Guthrie R. Dale

Author:Guthrie, R. Dale [Guthrie, R. Dale]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 2013-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

Fig. 6.10. Pattern of horn engagement. The horn and head structures of Blue Babe and other steppe bison show that their horns engaged well away from the face. This holding structure would have added leverage to keep an opponent from swinging around to the side.

The inward curve of horn tips found among many fossil specimens can be better explained by this strategy than as a hooking device to keep opponents from slipping by. An inward-pointing hook decreases the angle an opponent’s body must rotate before horns can be dug into his neck. When bison had their heads lowered and horns locked in place, the taut neck and shoulder muscles would not be far from the inwardly pointing horn tips (fig. 6.10).

When two bulls with the same-sized and -shaped horns twist symmetrically, their horns contact each other’s neck at the same time and to the same degree. If one animal has a significantly longer outward reach of the horn trunk, or a longer forward-pointing horn tip, it will cause proportionally greater damage (fig. 6.11). This is probably one of the selective forces that created the long and sharply pointed hooked horns in steppe bison.

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