| Ursus minimus Temporal range: Pliocene |
|
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Caniformia |
| Superfamily: | Arctoidea |
| Family: | Ursidae |
| Subfamily: | Ursinae |
| Tribe: | Ursini |
| Genus: | Ursus |
| Species: | Ursus minimus Linnaeus 1758 |
Ursus minimus (Auvergne Bear) is an extinct species of bear, endemic to Europe during the Pliocene, living from ~5.3—1.8 Mya, existing for approximately 3.5 million years.
Ursus minimus appears to have given rise to Ursus etruscus. The range of Ursus minimus was continental Europe and as far east as the Black Sea in Russia. Its southern range was Italy.
The skeleton of Ursus 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 Ursus minimus from those of modern Asian black bears.[1]
Sites and specimen ages:
Tracking the origins of the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) by mitochondrial DNA sequencing