Ursus minimus
| Ursus minimus Temporal range:
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Ursidae |
| Subfamily: | Ursinae |
| Genus: | Ursus |
| Species: | †U. minimus
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Ursus minimus Devèze & Bouillet, 1827
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| Synonyms | |
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Ursus minimus (the Auvergne bear) is an extinct species of bear, endemic to Europe during the Pliocene and Pleistocene, living from 5.3 to 1.8 Mya, existing for about 3.5 million years.
U. minimus appears to have given rise to Ursus etruscus.[1] The range of U. minimus was continental Europe, as far east as the Black Sea in Russia and as far south as Italy.
The skeleton of U. minimus was very similar to that of the larger Asian black bear. With the exception of the age of the bones, it is often difficult to distinguish the remains of U. minimus from those of modern Asian black bears.[2]
Distribution
Fossils of U. minimus are known from France, Slovakia,[3] Hungary, Ukraine, Italy, Bulgaria,[4] Georgia,[5] and Russia.
Fossil sites
Sites and specimen ages:
- Kossiakino 1, Stavropol'skaya, Russian Federation ~5.3—3.4 Mya.
- Kuchurgan gravel site, Ukraine ~4.9—4.2 Mya.
- Osztramos locality 7, Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, Hungary ~3.4—1.8 Mya.
- Seneze (Domeyrat) site, France ~3.4—1.8 Mya.
- Meleto site, Tuscany, Italy ~3.2—2.5 Mya.[6]
References
- ^ Wagner, J. (2010). "Pliocene to early Middle Pleistocene ursine bears in Europe: a taxonomic overview". Journal of the National Museum (Prague), Natural History Series. 179 (20): 197–215.
- ^ Search for the Golden Moon Bear: Science and Adventure in Pursuit of a New Species by Sy Montgomery published by Chelsea Green Publishing, 2009
- ^ Sabol, M.; Holec, P.; Wagner, J. (12 September 2008). "Late Pliocene carnivores from Včeláre 2 (Southeastern Slovakia)". Paleontological Journal. 42 (5): 531–543. doi:10.1134/S0031030108050092. ISSN 0031-0301. Retrieved 6 September 2025 – via Springer Nature Link.
- ^ Boev, Zlatozar (3 April 2023). "Quaternary vertebrate fauna of Bulgaria – composition, chronology and impoverishment" (PDF). Geologica Balcanica. 52 (1): 21–48. doi:10.52321/GeolBalc.52.1.21. Retrieved 6 September 2025 – via ResearchGate.
- ^ Bukhsianidze, M.; Koiava, K. (2018). "Synopsis of the terrestrial vertebrate faunas from the Middle Kura Basin (Eastern Georgia and Western Azerbaijan, South Caucasus)". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 63 (3). doi:10.4202/app.00499.201. ISSN 0567-7920. Retrieved 13 September 2025 – via Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.
- ^ Paleobiology Database: Meleto collection