Short face bear
Appearance
Arctodus Temporal range: Pleistocene
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A 1.6 m tall Arctodus simus next to a 1.8 m human. | |
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Genus: | Leidy, 1854
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Arctodus is an extinct genus including two species of prehistoric bears of the subfamily Tremarctinae. Arctodus simus, along with many other large mammals, became extinct during the Pleistocene epoch. It was preceded in time by A. pristinus, an evolutionary cousin or even ancestor of A. simus, proportionally shorter of leg and longer of muzzle. It was sometimes called the Short-faced Bear of North America. He was taller than any man even when not standing on hind legs. He was a Omnivore like todays Black bears. He ate berries and other smaller mammals. He is now extinct. [1]
References
- ^ Harrington, C.R. "North American Short-Faced Bear". Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
See also
External links
- U. of Alaska Fairbanks: P. Matheus, Ancient fossil offers new clues to brown bears past
- Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre
Wikispecies has information related to Arctodus.