Scientifically, the term buffalo is incorrect for the North American species; its proper Latin name is Bison bison. However, common usage has made the term buffalo an acceptable synonym for the American bison. (from The American Buffalo in Transition, by J. Albert Rorabacher.).
Life cycle. Life cycle, in biology, the series of changes that the members of a species undergo as they pass from the beginning of a given developmental stage to the inception of that same developmental stage in a subsequent generation.
life cycle. lifeâ² cy`cle. n. 1. the sequence of developmental changes undergone by an organism from one primary form, as a gamete, to the recurrence of the same form in the next generation. 2. a series of stages, as childhood and middle age, that characterize the course of existence of an individual, group, or culture.