King of the prehistoric plains

Massive herds thundering across the screen in Hollywood Westerns have immortalized the size and power of North America's mighty Plains bison (Bison bison. Yet, this continent was once home to a larger, even more imposing beast.

The steppe bison (Bisonpriscus) roamed the plains of Eastern Beringia, that large tractof land that emerges between Alaska and Northeast Siberia whenever anIce Age locks much of the earth's seawater in ice sheets on land.This ice age animal was slightly larger than the modern wood bison (Bison bison athabascae, had a second hump, and large imposing horns that were almost twice as long. The horns curved backward and some males had as much as 1 metre (3 ft) spread between the tips.

This coin is the third issue of the Prehistoric Animals (2007-2010) collection.
The first coin of the serie, released in 2007, depicts the Wooly mammoth.
The second coin of the serie, released in 2008, depicts the Scimitar cat.
The third coin of the serie, released in 2009, depicts the Steppe bison.
The fourth and the last coin of the serie, released in 2010, depicts the Jefferson ground sloth.