Ursus minimus

Ursus minimus
Temporal range: Pliocene–Pleistocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Genus: Ursus
Species:
†U. minimus
Binomial name
†Ursus minimus
Devèze & Bouillet, 1827
Synonyms
  • Ursus arvernensis Croizet & Jobert, 1828
  • Helarctos arvernensis (Croizet & Jobert, 1828) sensu Depéret, 1890
  • Helarctos arvernensis pyrenaicus Depéret, 1892
  • Ursus wenzensis Stach, 1953

Ursus minimus (the Auvergne bear) is an extinct species of bear, endemic to Europe during the Pliocene and Pleistocene, living from 5.3 to 1.8 Mya, existing for about 3.5 million years.

U. minimus appears to have given rise to Ursus etruscus.[1] The range of U. minimus was continental Europe, as far east as the Black Sea in Russia and as far south as Italy.

The skeleton of U. minimus was very similar to that of the larger Asian black bear. With the exception of the age of the bones, it is often difficult to distinguish the remains of U. minimus from those of modern Asian black bears.[2]

Fossil distribution

Sites and specimen ages:

References

  1. ^ Wagner, J. (2010). "Pliocene to early Middle Pleistocene ursine bears in Europe: a taxonomic overview". Journal of the National Museum (Prague), Natural History Series. 179 (20): 197–215.
  2. ^ Search for the Golden Moon Bear: Science and Adventure in Pursuit of a New Species by Sy Montgomery published by Chelsea Green Publishing, 2009
  3. ^ Paleobiology Database: Meleto collection
Stub icon

This article related to prehistoric animals from order Carnivora is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.