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.
Definition of life cycle. 1  1 : the series of stages in form and functional activity through which an organism passes between successive recurrences of a specified primary stage. 2  2 : life history 2. 3  3 : a series of stages through which something (such as an individual, culture, or manufactured product) passes during its lifetime.