Arctodus pristinus
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Arctodus Temporal range: Middle to Early Holocene, 1.8–0.010 Ma |
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| A. simus from the La Brea tar pits | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Ursidae |
| Subfamily: | Tremarctinae |
| Genus: |
†Arctodus Leidy, 1854 |
| Type species | |
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†Arctodus pristinus Leidy, 1854 |
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| Species | |
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The short-faced bear (Arctodus spp.) is an extinct bear that inhabited North America during the epoch from about 1.8 Mya until 11,000 years ago. It was the most common early North American bear and was most abundant in California. There are two recognized species: Arctodus pristinus and Arctodus simus, with the latter considered to be one of the largest known terrestrial mammalian carnivores that has ever existed. It has been hypothesized that their extinction coincides with the Younger Dryas period of global cooling commencing around 10,900 BC.
The name short-faced bear derives from the shape of their skulls, which appear to have a disproportionately short snout compared to other bears. This characteristic is also shared by its extant relative the spectacled bear. However, this apparent shortness is an illusion caused by their deep snouts and short nasal regions. The scientific name of the genus, Arctodus, derives from the Greek language and means "bear tooth".
The short-faced bear belongs to a group of bears known as the Tremarctinae, which appeared in North America during the earliest parts of the late Miocene epoch in the form of Plionarctos, a genus considered ancestral to Arctodus. During the Great American Interchange that followed the joining of North and South America, tremarctines invaded South America, leading to the evolution of Arctotherium and the modern spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus). Although the early history of Arctodus is poorly known, it evidently became widespread in North America by the Kansan age about 800,000 years ago.
Arctodus simus first appeared during the middle Pleistocene in North America, about 800,000 years ago, ranging from Alaska to Mississippi, and it became extinct about 11,600 years ago. Its fossils were first found in the Potter Creek Cave, Shasta County, California. It might have been the largest carnivorous land mammal that ever lived in North America. A giant short-faced bear skeleton has been found in Indiana, unearthed south of Rochester. It has become well known in scientific circles because it was the most nearly complete skeleton of a giant short-faced bear found in America. The original bones are in the Field Museum, Chicago.
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Wikipedia