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American Black Bear

American black bear
Temporal range: 2.6–0 Ma
Late PlioceneHolocene
01 Schwarzbär.jpg
Found near Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, Canada
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Genus: Ursus
Species: U. americanus
Binomial name
Ursus americanus
(Pallas, 1780)
Subspecies

16, see text

American Black bear map.png
Synonyms

Euarctos americanus

Black bear meat
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 649 kJ (155 kcal)
0.00 g
8.30 g
20.10 g
Vitamins
Vitamin A equiv.
(10%)
78 μg
Thiamine (B1)
(14%)
0.160 mg
Riboflavin (B2)
(57%)
0.680 mg
Niacin (B3)
(21%)
3.200 mg
Minerals
Iron
(55%)
7.20 mg
Phosphorus
(23%)
162 mg
Other constituents
Water 71.20 g
Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database

16, see text

Euarctos americanus

The American black bear (Ursus americanus) is a medium-sized bear native to North America.

It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. Black bears are omnivores with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in search of food. Sometimes they become attracted to human communities because of the immediate availability of food. The American black bear is the world's most common bear species.

It is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a "least concern" species, due to its widespread distribution and a large global population estimated to be twice that of all other bear species combined. Along with the brown bear, it is one of only two of the eight modern bear species not considered globally threatened with extinction by the IUCN. American black bears often mark trees using their teeth and claws as a form of communication with other bears, a behavior common to many species of bears.

Despite living in North America, American black bears are not closely related to brown bears and polar bears; genetic studies reveal that they split from a common ancestor 5.05 million years ago (mya). Both American and Asian black bears are considered sister taxa, and are more closely related to each other than to other species of bear. Reportedly, the sun bear is also a relatively recent split from this lineage.

A small primitive bear called Ursus abstrusus is the oldest known North American fossil member of the genus Ursus, dated to 4.95 mya. This suggests that U. abstrusus may be the direct ancestor of the American black bear, which evolved in North America. Although Wolverton and Lyman still consider U. vitabilis an "apparent precursor to modern black bears", it has also been placed within U. americanus.

The ancestors of American black bears and Asiatic black bears diverged from sun bears 4.58 mya. The American black bear then split from the Asian black bear 4.08 mya. The earliest American black bear fossils, which were located in Port Kennedy, Pennsylvania, greatly resemble the Asiatic species, though later specimens grew to sizes comparable to grizzlies. From the Holocene to present, American black bears seem to have shrunk in size, but this has been disputed because of problems with dating these fossil specimens.


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Wikipedia

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