Steppe brown bear

Disputed extinct subspecies of brown bear

Ursus arctos priscus
Temporal range: Pleistocene
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Illustration of a steppe brown bear battling a cave lion
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Genus: Ursus
Species:
U. arctos
Subspecies:
†U. a. priscus
Trinomial name
†Ursus arctos priscus

The steppe brown bear (Ursus arctos priscus) is a disputed extinct subspecies of brown bear that lived in Eurasia during either the Pleistocene or the early Holocene epochs, but its geological age is uncertain.[1] Fossils of the bear have been found in various caves in Slovakia, particularly those of Vazec, Vyvieranie, Lisková, Kupcovie Izbicka, and Okno.[2] It is argued that the subspecies should be rendered invalid, as its geological age is unclear and "its skull is identical to modern U. arctos."[3][1]

Description

Adult males in average would have weighed 700–800 kg (1,500–1,800 lb), with the largest individuals weighing up to 1,000 kg (2,200 lb).[4] It was more carnivorous than a modern brown bear, consuming 50 kg (110 lb) of meat per day.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b Villalba de Alvarado, M., Collado Giraldo, H., Arsuaga, J. L., Bello Rodrigo, J. R., Heteren, A. H., & Gómez‐Olivencia, A. (2021). Looking for the earliest evidence of Ursus arctos LINNAEUS, 1758 in the Iberian Peninsula: the Middle Pleistocene site of Postes cave. Boreas, 51(1), 159–184. https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12537
  2. ^ Sabol, M. (2001), Fossil Brown Bears of Slovakia (Los osos pardos fósiles de Eslovaquia) (PDF), vol. 26, Bratislava: Cadernos Lab. Xeolóxico de Laxe Coruña, pp. 311–316, ISSN 0213-4497
  3. ^ Pacher, M. (2007). The type specimen of Ursus priscus Goldfuss, 1810 and the uncertain status of Late Pleistocene brown bears. Neues Jahrbuch f€ur Geologie und Pal€aontologie, Abhandlungen 245, 331–339.
  4. ^ a b Marciszak, A., Schouwenburg, C., Lipecki, G., Talamo, S., Shpansky, A., Malikov, D., & Gornig, W. (2019). Steppe brown bear Ursus arctos “priscus” from the Late Pleistocene of Europe. Quaternary International, 534, 158–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2019.02.042
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Brown bear subspecies or populations
Old World
  • †Atlas bear (U. a. crowtheri)
  • †Steppe brown bear (U. a. priscus)
Eurasian brown bear
(provisionally
U. a. arctos)
In Asia
  • Kamchatkan brown bear (provisionally U. a. beringianus)
  • East Siberian brown bear (provisionally U. a. collaris)
  • Gobi bear (provisionally U. a. gobiensis)
  • Himalayan brown bear (provisionally U. a. isabellinus)
  • Ussuri brown bear (provisionally U. a. lasiotus)
  • Syrian brown bear (provisionally U. a. syriacus)
  • Tibetan blue bear (provisionally U. a. pruinosus)
In Europe
  • Marsican brown bear (provisionally U. a. marsicanus)
  • Cantabrian brown bear (formerly U. a. pyrenaicus)
New World
Grizzly bear
(provisionally
U. a. horribilis)
  • †California grizzly bear (provisionally U. a. californicus)
  • †Mexican grizzly bear (formerly U. a. nelsoni)
In Alaska
  • Dall Island brown bear (formerly U. a. dalli)
  • Peninsular giant bear (provisionally U. a. gyas)
  • Kodiak bear (provisionally U. a. middendorffi)
  • Sitka brown bear (provisionally U. a. sitkensis; hybrid)[a]
In Canada
  • Stickeen brown bear (provisionally U. a. stikeenensis)
  • †Ungava brown bear (formerly U. a. ungavaesis)
  1. ^ Genetic tests demonstrate this population to have mixed brown bear and polar bear ancestry.


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