Short face bear
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged with Arctodus simus. (Discuss) Proposed since July 2008. |
| Short faced bear Temporal range: Pleistocene
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| A 1.6 m tall Short faced bear next to a 1.8 m human. | |
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| Genus: | Leidy, 1854
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Short faced bear (Genus: Arctodus) is an extinct animal 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.
Diet and Hunting
The Short face bear, at 11 ft. when standing, would have been able to kill many of the Pleistocene giant mammals such as the Megatherium, or the many varieties of mammoths. Some scientists propose that the Giant Short Face bear would have been a scavenger, do to the study of its olfacory acuity, which suggests that it could smell meat over 5-6 miles away, and that it couldn't chase down its prey, do to its way of moving. It moves by using the type of movement used by some other mammals, that doesn't enable it to turn during high-speed chases or it would fall. This is also supported by the fact that most predators are opportunistic, and if they are biggr predators than the ones who caught the meat, they will take it by force. This is also supported by a test done in 2007 which confirmed that it had a mixed diet of animals, with no particular prey that it feeds on.
Evolution
Probably due to the abundance of food in the Pleistocene epoch, members of the subfamily of carnivora Tremarctinae, the Short face bear probably evolved from other large bears at the time ot fill the open nich of top predator, or as other scientists blieve, scavenger. It certainly had the equipment to be a predator. Powerful jaws capable of breaking bone, massive claws and wide arms for grappling and slashing, and an olfactoru acuity that is the greatest seen in any bear, for smell. All these traights, combined with A height of around 6 ft. on all fours at he shoulder and 11 ft. while standing, make it the greatest carnivorous mammal to walk the earth.
Extinction
At the end of the Pleistocene epoch, probably due to global warming, the icesheets started receeding. With less food to support the giant mammals, they went extinct. Without sufficent prey, specialists like the Smilodon Fatalis or Dire Wolf went extinct. Soon after the Short Faced bear went extinct also.
Popular Media
the Short Faced bear has appeared in many shows on he history channel, including Jurrasic Fight Club, and it has also appeared on the National Geographic Original documentary about these creatures.
Copyright Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia 2008 All rights reserved. Text Copyright by M. A. Gjinolli and Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia 2008 All rights Reserved. [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
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