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How did climate change in the Miocene Epoch create new habitats for bovids?

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An American bison, or plains buffalo (Bison bison), stands in tall yellow grass with open plains in the background. — bovid American bison, or plains buffalo (*Bison bison*).

During the middle Miocene Epoch, a significant shift from a subtropical climate to a cooler, more seasonal environment fundamentally transformed terrestrial landscapes. This climate change caused the replacement of dense subtropical woodlands with more open, productive habitats, specifically the expansion of grasslands and savannas.12

These new, open environments provided the ecological conditions necessary for the radiation and diversification of bovids. As ruminants, bovids possessed a superior ability to extract nutrients from the fibrous grasses that dominated these emerging landscapes. By evolving specialized feeding apparatuses and digestive systems, they were able to partition these ecosystems into narrow niches. This adaptability allowed them to thrive in varied ecological conditions, eventually leading them to become the most diverse and abundant group of large herbivores.1