French
DeutschUrsus rossicus
| Ursus rossicus Temporal range: Middle to Late Pleistocene, | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Skeleton in Zoological Museum, Saint Petersburg | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Ursidae |
| Genus: | Ursus |
| Species: | †U. rossicus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Ursus rossicus Borissiak, 1930 | |
Ursus rossicus (the Pleistocene small cave bear)[1] is an extinct species of bear that lived in the steppe regions of northern Eurasia and Siberia during the Pleistocene.
Discovery[edit]
Vereshchagin discovered the first U. rossicus remains in the Altai Mountains in 1973. Mandibles of the bear were found in Bachatsk Quarry, Krasni Yar (in Tomsk Province) and Mokhovo Quarry; skull fragments were found in Krasni Yar.[1] More fossil remains of U. rossicus were discovered in the famous Denisova Cave.[2]
Description[edit]
The small cave bear had a very broad, domed skull with a steep forehead. Its stout body had long thighs, massive shins and in-turning feet, making it similar in skeletal structure to the brown bear.[3] Cave bears were comparable in size to the largest modern-day bears.[4]
Diet[edit]
Cave bear teeth show greater wear than most modern bear species, suggesting a diet of tough materials. However, tubers and other gritty food, which cause distinctive tooth wear in modern brown bears, do not appear to have constituted a major part of cave bears' diets on the basis of dental microwear analysis.[5]
The morphological features of the cave bear chewing apparatus, including loss of premolars, have long been suggested to indicate their diets displayed a higher degree of herbivory than the Eurasian brown bear. Indeed, a solely vegetarian diet has been inferred on the basis of tooth morphology. Results obtained on the stable isotopes of cave bear bones also point to a largely vegetarian diet in having low levels of nitrogen-15 and carbon-13,[6] which are accumulated at a faster rate by carnivores as opposed to herbivores.
Cave bears of the last ice age lacked the usual two or three premolars present in other bears; to compensate, the last molar is very elongated, with supplementary cusps.[7]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Baryshnikov, G.; Foronova, I. (2001). "Pleistocene small cave bear (Ursus rossicus) from the South Siberia, Russia" (PDF). Cadernos Lab. Xeolóxico de Laxe. 26: 373–398. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ^ Puzachenko, A.Yu.; Titov, V.V.; Kosintsev, P.A. (20 December 2021). "Evolution of the European regional large mammals assemblages in the end of the Middle Pleistocene – The first half of the Late Pleistocene (MIS 6–MIS 4)". Quaternary International. 605–606: 155–191. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2020.08.038. Retrieved 22 January 2024 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
- ^ Brown, Gary (1996). Great Bear Almanac. Lyons & Burford. p. 340. ISBN 1-55821-474-7.
- ^ Macdonald, David (1992). The Velvet Claw. New York: Parkwest. p. 256. ISBN 0-563-20844-9.
- ^ Pinto Llona, A. C., Andrews, P. & Etxeberrı´a, P. 2005: Taphonomy and Palaeoecology of Cave Bears from the Quaternary of Cantabrian Spain. Fondacio´n de Asturias/Du Pont Ibe´rica/The Natural History Museum, Grafinsa, Oviedo.
- ^ Bocherens, H.; et al. (2006). "Bears and humans in Chauvet Cave (Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, Ardeche, France): Insights from stable isotopes and radiocarbon dating of bone collagen". Journal of Human Evolution. 50 (3): 370–376. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.12.002. PMID 16442587.
- ^ Gli orsi spelèi delle Conturines/ Ursus Spelaeus. Altabadia.it. Retrieved on 2011-09-26.
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