Back Arctotherium AN Arctoteri Catalan Arctotherium German Arctotherium Spanish خرسدد Persian Arctotherium French ארקטותריום HE Arctotherium Croatian Arctotherium Italian アルクトテリウム Japanese
| Arctotherium | |
|---|---|
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| Life restoration of A. bonariense | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Ursidae |
| Subfamily: | Tremarctinae |
| Genus: | †Arctotherium Bravard, 1857 |
| Type species | |
| †Arctotherium bonariense Gervais, 1852
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| Species | |
| Synonyms | |
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Genus synonymy
Species synonymy
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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] By far the largest bear species discovered, estimated to stand around 4.0 m (13 ft) and weighing 1,600 kg (3,500 lb), 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]
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.