Arctotherium

Arctotherium
Temporal range: Late Pliocene-Early Holocene (Uquian-Lujanian) ~2.588–0.010 Ma
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Life restoration of A. bonariense
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Subfamily: Tremarctinae
Genus: †Arctotherium
Bravard, 1857
Type species
†Arctotherium bonariense
Gervais, 1852
Species
  • A. angustidens Gervais & Ameghino, 1880
  • A. bonariense Gervais, 1852 (type)
  • A. tarijense Ameghino, 1902
  • A. vetustum Ameghino, 1885
  • A. wingei Ameghino, 1902
Synonyms
Genus synonymy
  • Pararctotherium Ameghino, 1904
Species synonymy
  • A. angustidens:
    • Arctotherium latidens Bravard, 1857
  • A. bonariense:
    • Arctodus bonariensis Perea and Ubilla, 2001
    • Arctotherium bonaerense ?
    • Pararctotherium enectum Ameghino, 1904
    • Ursus bonariensis Gervais, 1852
  • A. tarijense:
    • Pararctotherium pamparum Ameghino, 1904
  • A. wingei:
    • Arctotherium brasiliensis Lund, 1804
    • Arctotherium brasiliense Lund, 1838
    • ?Panthera balamoides? Stinnesbeck, 2019

Arctotherium ("bear beast") is an extinct genus of the Pleistocene short-faced bears endemic to Central and South America.[1] Arctotherium migrated from North America to South America during the Great American Interchange, following the formation of the Isthmus of Panama during the late Pliocene. The genus consists of one early giant form, A. angustidens, and several succeeding smaller species, which were within the size range of modern bears.[2] Arctotherium was adapted to open and mixed habitat.[3] They are genetically closer to the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), than to Arctodus of North America, implying the two extinct forms evolved large size in a convergent manner.[4]

  1. ^ Soibelzon, L.H.; Tonni, E.P.; Bond, M. (2005). "The fossil record of South American short-faced bears (Ursidae, Tremarctinae)". Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 20 (1–2): 105–113. Bibcode:2005JSAES..20..105S. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2005.07.005. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  2. ^ Soibelzon, L.H.; Schubert, B.W. (2011). "The Largest Known Bear, Arctotherium angustidens, from the Early Pleistocene Pampean Region of Argentina: With a Discussion of Size and Diet Trends in Bears". Journal of Paleontology. 85 (1): 69–75. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.870.2014. doi:10.1666/10-037.1. S2CID 129585554.
  3. ^ Meloro, Carlo; de Oliveira, Alessandro Marques (2019-03-01). "Elbow Joint Geometry in Bears (Ursidae, Carnivora): a Tool to Infer Paleobiology and Functional Adaptations of Quaternary Fossils". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 26 (1): 133–146. doi:10.1007/s10914-017-9413-x. ISSN 1573-7055. S2CID 25839635.
  4. ^ Mitchell, K. J.; Bray, S. C.; Bover, P.; Soibelzon, L.; Schubert, B. W.; Prevosti, F.; Prieto, A.; Martin, F.; Austin & Alan Cooper, J. J. (2016). "Ancient mitochondrial DNA reveals convergent evolution of giant short-faced bears (Tremarctinae) in North and South America". Biology Letters. 12 (4): 20160062. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2016.0062. PMC 4881349. PMID 27095265.