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The type specimen of Ursus priscus GOLDFUSS, 1818 and the uncertain status of Late Pleistocene brown bears
Abstract
From the beginning of the first scientific explorations of caves, the Zoolithenhöhle in Franconia, Germany, was famous for its rich fossil content. In addition to the numerous remains of cave bears and other animals, a skull of a clearly distinct kind of bear was found, originally called Ursus priscus GOLDFUSS, 1818. Three years later, the term Ursus fossilis was introduced along with a published description of the skull, which led to confusion about the adequate designation of the new species. U. priscus was regarded as a contemporary of the cave bear, i.e. Late Pleistocene in age, but the geological age of the find is still unclear even today, and from the overall state of preservation it could be even of Holocene age. Unfortunately, it was not possible to get the permission for dating the skull directly. In this paper a revised study of the skull demonstrates that it is identical to modern U. arctos. The specimen probably represents a female individual. On the basis of this evidence, U. priscus, U. fossilis and its synonyms are invalid terms. The nature of Late Pleistocene brown bears is still not well known.
... Brown bears seem to have originated in Asia where they have been recorded since the early Middle Pleistocene in sites such as Zhoukoudian, in particular in the Upper Cave and Loc.1 cave, where the last one was dated to 620 ka BP (Kurt en 1968;Zhou et al. 2000;Jiangzuo et al. 2018). Middle and Late Pleistocene brown bears have been named Ursus prearctos BOULE, 1906, Ursus arctos kamiensis VERESTCHAGIN, 1959, Ursus priscus skull is identical to modern U. arctos (Pacher 2007). Thus, U. priscus, U. fossilis and its synonyms should be considered invalid terms (Pacher 2007). ...
... Middle and Late Pleistocene brown bears have been named Ursus prearctos BOULE, 1906, Ursus arctos kamiensis VERESTCHAGIN, 1959, Ursus priscus skull is identical to modern U. arctos (Pacher 2007). Thus, U. priscus, U. fossilis and its synonyms should be considered invalid terms (Pacher 2007). ...
... Many studies have pointed out the decrease in size of the brown bear after the Pleistocene (Couturier 1948;Erdbrink 1953;Kurt en 1959;Bonifay 1971;Ballesio 1983;Torres 1988; Baryshnikov & Boeskorov 2004;Pacher 2007;Rosendahl & D€ oppes 2011). Marciszak et al. (2015) shows a progressive decrease in skull size from the Middle Pleistocene to recent brown bears and note the particularity of the Late Pleistocene skulls from the Iberian Peninsula, which are smaller than those from other areas of Europe during the same period. ...
Brown bears (Ursus arctos) diverged from the cave bear lineage c. 1.2 million years ago and likely originated in Asia, where the oldest fossils belong to a Middle Pleistocene chronology. Brown bear fossils from the Middle Pleistocene are scarce in the Iberian Peninsula, especially when compared to the cave bear record and they are mainly located in the southern half of the peninsula. The oldest evidence in the Iberian Peninsula is from c. 250 ka, which is 300 ka younger than the oldest European records (˜550 ka; L’Arago). Here we present the brown bear fossil assemblage from Postes cave (Fuentes de León, Extremadura, southern Iberian Peninsula). Postes cave has yielded some of the oldest evidence for brown bears in Iberia with a minimum date of 244 191±2261 a BP (number of identified specimens (NISP) = 4). Additionally, the uppermost part of the Pleistocene deposit has yielded one of the largest Middle Pleistocene brown bear collections in the Iberian Peninsula (NISP = 73) with a chronology roughly between 193 and 244 ka BP, comprising both cranial and postcranial remains and including a complete hemimandible. The Postes mandible fits well within the Middle Pleistocene brown bear range of variation, as it is significantly different in size and shape from the Holocene brown bears, based on geometric morphometric analyses. We show that these differences are due to allometry. This site provides more insight into the Middle Pleistocene morphological variation of brown bears in western Europe and underscores the need for additional Middle Pleistocene fossils in the northern half of Iberia to further test palaeobiogeographical hypotheses of this species’ entrance into the largest of the southern European peninsulas.
... Since the first description two centuries ago (Goldfuss, 1818a(Goldfuss, , 1818b, there are still no evident morphological features to describe the steppe brown bear as a distinct form. The overwhelming majority of authors given the great size as a key feature for the Late Pleistocene Eurasian brown bear (Baryshnikov, 2007;Pacher, 2007;Marciszak et al., 2015 and references therein). Although with some exceptions and still not fully clarified nature of this factor, it is general agreement that this character is one of the main features typical for the steppe brown bear. ...
... Finally, we also examined morphometrically the skull of "Ursus priscus", stored in the Natural History Museum in London. This skull was previously studied by various authors (Goldfuss, 1810(Goldfuss, , 1818a1818b, 1823Cuvier, 1834Cuvier, , 1835Lydekker, 1885;Owen, 1846;Middendorf, 1851;Wagner, 1851;Busk, 1879;Reynolds, 1906;Freudenberg, 1914;Rode, 1935;Erdbrink, 1953;Thenius, 1956) and history of those researchers was summarized by Pacher (2007). She concludes that the skull is identical to those in U. arctos, belonged to the female, its stratigraphic position is unclear and the type specimen described by Goldfuss cannot be used as a representative of the Late Pleistocene European brown bear. ...
... She concludes that the skull is identical to those in U. arctos, belonged to the female, its stratigraphic position is unclear and the type specimen described by Goldfuss cannot be used as a representative of the Late Pleistocene European brown bear. With a total length of 350 mm, the Zoolithen bear is rather small-sized specimen when compared with big skulls of Late Pleistocene age (Pacher, 2007). The dimensions well agree with values obtained for Carpathian bears, with the mean of males ca. ...
The steppe brown bear U. a. “priscus” is constant but not a common member of the Late Pleistocene paleocommunities. It is not distinct arctoid species, but a large brown bear ecomorph which lived in open environments. Instead to speleoid bears, which disappeared ca. 26-24 ka BP, arctoid bears, thanks to their ecological plasticity, were present in most of the European areas even during the cold phases. The size and diet of these bears were modified under the climate conditions and food availability. U. a. “priscus” cannot be distinguished genetically, but it differs metrically and morphologically. It was a big sized form with enlarged and broad cheek teeth. Late Pleistocene brown bears, especially those lived before the LGM were more carnivorous than the Holocene and recent brown bear. The steppe brown bear survived till the beginning of the Holocene, where the last relict populations lived around the Baltic and the North Sea decreasing in size and merging genetically with widely distributed Eurasian populations of U. a. arctos.
... Jest to jeden z nielicznych dużych drapieżników, który przetrwał wielkie wymieranie na przełomie plejstocenu i holocenu. Gatunek ten charakteryzuje wybitna zdolność przystosowawcza do warunków środowiska oraz różnorakiego pokarmu (Pacher, 2007). Jednocześnie rozmiary gwarantują względne bezpieczeństwo oraz dominującą pozycję we współczesnej faunie europejskich ssaków drapieżnych. ...
... Pozostałe gatunki penetrowały wnętrze jaskini raczej przypadkowo a charakter akumulacji ich szczątków miał prawdopodobnie charakter incydentalny. Literatura Pacher, M., 2007. The type specimen of Ursus priscus Goldfuss, 1810 and the uncertain status of Late Pleistocene brown bears. ...
... Na podstawie analizy dużej liczby materiału można ostrożnie stwierdzić, że pozycja taksonomiczna dużej formy europejskiego, późnoplejstoceńskiego niedźwiedzia brunatnego Ursus arctos priscus Goldfuss 1818 wydaje się niejasna i może być kwestionowana. Z wyjątkiem większych rozmiarów, nie zostały zdefiniowane istotne cechy morfologiczne lub metryczne umożliwiające odróżnianie U. a. priscus jako osobnego podgatunku lub formy (Pacher, 2007). Niedźwiedź brunatny jako gatunek charakteryzuje się bardzo wyraźnym dymorfizmem płciowym i zmiennością osobniczą, co może całkowicie zafałszować wyniki analiz (Baryshnikov, 2007). ...
... The history of the brown bear was similar. With its opportunistic behaviour, extremely broad diet, ability to adapt to various habitats ranging from semi-deserts to Arctic tundra, including arid and mountain areas, it could survive and adapt to the new environmental conditions (Baryshnikov 2007;Pacher 2007;Marciszak et al. 2017). Despite their scarcity, the brown bear remains from lowland Silesian open sites document the occurrence of a very particular kind of bear. ...
... Since MIS 5 moderately large individuals with progressive morphology already occurred, large lions hold some primitive features similar to Węgry specimen still existed during MIS 6-5 (Altuna 1981;Argant 1991;Baryshnikov and Tsoukala 2010;Sotnikova and Foronova 2012;Marciszak et al. 2014). Pleistocene lions with progressive morphology closer to first appeared in western Asia, eastern and south-east Europe (Thenius 1956;Musil 1964;Pacher 2007;Rabeder and Frischauf 2016;Marciszak et al. 2016Marciszak et al. , 2017. It is very characteristic that this form is always strangely difficult to find not only in open sites but also in caves. ...
... It is very characteristic that this form is always strangely difficult to find not only in open sites but also in caves. Because it is uncommon, metric and morphological studies of this species suffer from paucity of fossil material (Baryshnikov 2007;Pacher 2007). Compared to other carnivores, the steppe brown bear was never common in one locality and tended to be a solitary scavenger (rather than hunter), which required large expanses of open grassland (Sabol 2001). ...
The information presented here is based on 174 sites; it is a result of a detailed historical collection revision of materials from Silesia and also the first comprehensive paper after the early German and Polish compilations. Though our work includes both quantitative and qualitative updates, it is neither exhaustive nor complete. It is very likely that many finds have not yet been reported to scientific institutions or museums, or else remain in private collections. The localities concerned are dominated by remains found under or within alluvial deposits of the last glaciation or in the context of loess sediments. Most of the documented remains are from the Late Pleistocene. Cold-adapted members of steppe-tundra faunal assemblages, such as Mammuthus primigenius, Equus ferus, Coelodonta antiquitatis, Rangifer tarandus, Ovibos moschatus, and Bison priscus dominate. Most artiodactyls were found in alluvial sediments, in bogs or swamps, while carnivores are represented only by isolated remains. The location of faunal assemblages and isolated finds shows the importance of river valleys as migrations routes. Silesia stretches along the Odra River, which runs in a roughly south-north direction, and connects the Sudety Mts and the Głubczyce Plateau with the wide, open lowlands of Eastern Germany and Western Poland.
... U. arctos is characterized by great size variation through its whole time span. Most authors reported the decreasing size process in the brown bear lineage evolution in the end of the Late Pleistocene and beginning of the Holocene and simultaneously accented particularly large size of fossil brown bears (Ball, 1850;Adams, 1880Adams, , 1883Reynolds, 1906;Couturier, 1948;Erdbrink, 1953;Thenius, 1956;Kurt en, 1959Kurt en, , 1964Kurt en, , 1965Kurt en, , 1968bBonifay, 1971;Kurt en, 1977Kurt en, , 1978Pohar, 1981;Ballesio, 1983;Torres P erez Hidalgo, 1988aSabol, 2001a;Baryshnikov and Boeskorov, 2004;Baryshnikov, 2007;Pacher, 2007;Rosendahl and D€ oppes, 2011). Here we carried out extensive comparison of large series of geographically and stratigraphically diverse samples of brown bears from Eurasia in the context of size changes. ...
... The number of localities and individuals are larger in postglacial and Holocene sites, in which brown bear bones constituted up to 2% of skeleton remains of hunted animals (see Krakhmalnaya, 1999 and reference therein), e.g. in Lesnik Cave on Ai-Petri plateau (Crimea), dated to 10,155 ± 40 BP. In Holocene U. arctos is found across most of Europe (Baryshnikov, 2007;Pacher, 2007) and until historical times its geographical range covered almost the whole Ukraine territory (Krakhmalnaya, 1999). However, recently it is restricted only to Carpathian Mountains in the west Ukraine, while European large, stabile populations can be found in central and eastern part of the continent (Krakhmalnaya, 1999). ...
... Nevertheless, according to Rabeder et al. (2009), brown bear or at least forms very close to U. arctos were already present in Europe at the end of the Early Pleistocene. The same was also pointed out by Pacher (2007). This view is in agreement with divergence time, 1.2e1.7 million years ago, between speleolid and arctoid lineage based on palaeontological (Kurt en, 1968a(Kurt en, ,b, 1977Rabeder et al., 2009) and molecular data (Loreille et al., 2001;Bon et al., 2008), although some calculations showed an earlier split about 2.8 million years ago (Krause et al., 2008). ...
Brown bear Ursus arctos is a permanent member of European Middle and Late Pleistocene carnivore
assemblages, which shows great body size fluctuation over time. To study this subject we carried out
extensive comparison of 37 cranial metric features based on 2954 measurements coming from 263
specimens. In the statistical analyses we included a new complete brown bear calvarium which was
found in Bukovynka Cave in Ukraine and dated to postglacial period. The cranial material was divided
into male and female sets and classified according to geographic and stratigraphic affiliation of the
samples. Analyses revealed clear decrease in many skull dimensions from the Middle Pleistocene
specimens through the Late Pleistocene and postglacial to the Holocene skulls. The trend is probably
related with general climatic changes during this period. However, Late Pleistocene specimens from
Iberian Peninsula were significantly smaller from other Late Pleistocene European skulls or even a bit
younger from the Late Glacial and postglacial period for some dimensions. The deviation from the global
trend could result from their isolation from other European populations. These conclusions can be drawn
both for male and female skulls. The decrease in body size showed that U. arctos is dynamically evolving
species. Thus, the size does not seem to be a perfect criterion in determining the biochronological age of
the brown bear findings although a general decreasing trend in size with time is clearly visible. The size
of brown bear is under the influence of many factors such as great sexual dimorphism, individual and
population variability as well as global and local climatic conditions.
... U. arctos is characterized by great size variation through its whole time span. Most authors reported the decreasing size process in the brown bear lineage evolution in the end of the Late Pleistocene and beginning of the Holocene and simultaneously accented particularly large size of fossil brown bears (Ball, 1850;Adams, 1880Adams, , 1883Reynolds, 1906;Couturier, 1948;Erdbrink, 1953;Thenius, 1956;Kurt en, 1959Kurt en, , 1964Kurt en, , 1965Kurt en, , 1968bBonifay, 1971;Kurt en, 1977Kurt en, , 1978Pohar, 1981;Ballesio, 1983;Torres P erez Hidalgo, 1988aSabol, 2001a;Baryshnikov and Boeskorov, 2004;Baryshnikov, 2007;Pacher, 2007;Rosendahl and D€ oppes, 2011). Here we carried out extensive comparison of large series of geographically and stratigraphically diverse samples of brown bears from Eurasia in the context of size changes. ...
... The number of localities and individuals are larger in postglacial and Holocene sites, in which brown bear bones constituted up to 2% of skeleton remains of hunted animals (see Krakhmalnaya, 1999 and reference therein), e.g. in Lesnik Cave on Ai-Petri plateau (Crimea), dated to 10,155 ± 40 BP. In Holocene U. arctos is found across most of Europe (Baryshnikov, 2007;Pacher, 2007) and until historical times its geographical range covered almost the whole Ukraine territory (Krakhmalnaya, 1999). However, recently it is restricted only to Carpathian Mountains in the west Ukraine, while European large, stabile populations can be found in central and eastern part of the continent (Krakhmalnaya, 1999). ...
... Nevertheless, according to Rabeder et al. (2009), brown bear or at least forms very close to U. arctos were already present in Europe at the end of the Early Pleistocene. The same was also pointed out by Pacher (2007). This view is in agreement with divergence time, 1.2e1.7 million years ago, between speleolid and arctoid lineage based on palaeontological (Kurt en, 1968a(Kurt en, ,b, 1977Rabeder et al., 2009) and molecular data (Loreille et al., 2001;Bon et al., 2008), although some calculations showed an earlier split about 2.8 million years ago (Krause et al., 2008). ...
Brown bear Ursus arctos is a permanent member of European Middle and Late Pleistocene carnivore assemblages, which shows great body size fluctuation over time. To study this subject we carried out extensive comparison of 37 cranial metric features based on 2954 measurements coming from 263 specimens. In the statistical analyses we included a new complete brown bear calvarium which was found in Bukovynka Cave in Ukraine and dated to postglacial period. The cranial material was divided into male and female sets and classified according to geographic and stratigraphic affiliation of the samples. Analyses revealed clear decrease in many skull dimensions from the Middle Pleistocene specimens through the Late Pleistocene and postglacial to the Holocene skulls. The trend is probably related with general climatic changes during this period. However, Late Pleistocene specimens from Iberian Peninsula were significantly smaller from other Late Pleistocene European skulls or even a bit younger from the Late Glacial and postglacial period for some dimensions. The deviation from the global trend could result from their isolation from other European populations. These conclusions can be drawn both for male and female skulls. The decrease in body size showed that U. arctos is dynamically evolving species. Thus, the size does not seem to be a perfect criterion in determining the biochronological age of the brown bear findings although a general decreasing trend in size with time is clearly visible. The size of brown bear is under the influence of many factors such as great sexual dimorphism, individual and population variability as well as global and local climatic conditions.
... Its phenotypic peculiarities were mostly based on specimens from periglacial areas (e.g., Thenius 1956;Musil 1964). The situation becomes confusing when Pacher (2007) revised the holotype of U. a. priscus and found that this skull looks very recent and does not bear morphological characteristics traditionally associated with U. a. priscus. Moreover, some other subspecies were described for European brown bears from the Eemian, Weichselian or early Holocene, making the situation still more unclear, but it is above the scope of this paper to discuss this history in detail. ...
... Ecotypes classify U. arctos according to different life history strategies and ecological conditions. Since the holotype of U. a. priscus does not contain the diagnostic characteristics traditionally used for defining this subspecies (Pacher 2007;Marciszak et al. 2019) and so far no formal re-description and/or neotype designation has been made, there is currently no consensus on the taxonomic status of this subspecies. In this paper, we recognise this bear as a distinct ecomorph distinguishing it from the nominotypical Ursus arctos arctos Linnaeus, 1758, whose occurrence in Czech territory is mostly related to MIS 1. ...
During the Late Pleistocene (MIS 5e-2), the brown bear Ursus arctos was widespread in the Czech Republic. From this time interval, the species was recorded in 51 Czech localities, including 10 open-air and 41 cave sites. A total of 18 radiocarbon dates obtained from the material showed the presence of the species in this territory 46–12.6 kyr ago during the Late Pleistocene, but most of the dates are concentrated between 45.7 and 29.3 kyr. Later, its occurrence continued into the Holocene. Three dates confirmed the presence of U . arctos just before and during the LGM. However, during the coolest part of the GS-2.1b interval (about 20.9–19.0 kyr), the species was not recorded in the territory of the Czech Republic. A large, broad-toothed, highly carnivorous priscus ecomorph adapted to live in open grasslands occurred during the Late Pleistocene, while the arctos ecomorph was rarely recorded from that period. The post-LGM time (17.5–14.7 kyr) was characterised by increasing numbers of brown bear dates on the territory of the Czech Republic. It was also a period of progressive afforestation and the disappearance of the priscus ecomorph. The latest occurrence of the priscus ecomorph in the territory of the Czech Republic was represented by a robust mandible from the Býčí skála Cave, dated at 15.4–14.9 kyr.
... 6 arctos priscus Goldfuss, 1818 was established as senior, firstly used to designate a new form (Pacher, 2007). ...
... Preliminary results of isotopic studies (Krajcarz et al., 2014c) also confirm a higher proportion of meat in the diet of the Pleistocene forms. In conclusion, we agree with many earlier authors (e.g., Thenius, 1956;Mostecký, 1963;Musil, 1964;Musil, 1996;Sabol, 2001aSabol, , 2001bPacher, 2007) on that the true U. arctos priscus may have represented quite a differ-ent form, that was adapted to open, steppe-like habitats. ...
Mammals from Solna Jama Cave were parts of two main faunal assemblages. The earlier one, dated as MIS 3, included few bones of the Ursus ingressus and a single m2 of the huge Ursus arctos priscus. The later one, of postglacial age (MIS 1), was represented, among others, by the Canis lupus, Mustela eversmanii and Felis silvestris. The most impressive find, a skull and partial skeleton of a very large and robust Gulo gulo, is the only reliable Polish record of the species from postglacial period. The find expands the knowledge of the Sudetes fauna from the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary. Morphometric characteristics of carnivores, which greatly outnumbered the other mammal taxa in the site, showed some adaptation to cool climatic conditions.
... A number of scientific species names and subspecies names occur in publications on Irish bears, although not as many as the twentyeight possible synonyms recorded by Lydekker (1885) or the 151 possible synonyms known today (Wilson and Reeder 2005). For example the summary of Irish fossil mammals by Adams (1878) refers to U. fossilis (of Goldfuss, 1821, also known as Ursus priscus Goldfuss, 1818, see Pacher 2007), U. planafrons (of Denny, 1864, which Adams spelled incorrectly as planifrons), Ursus ferox (Temminck, 1844, Grizzly Bear, also known as Ursus horribilis Ord, 1815), U. arctos (Brown Bear) and U. spelaeus (Cave Bear), of which only the latter two are currently accepted species names. ...
The Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) is known in the fossil state from over thirty localities in Ireland. All localities are summarised here, as is the current state of knowledge regarding this species on the island. All Irish fossil bears belong to this species, which inhabited the island at three discrete periods during the late Pleistocene and through the Holocene up to 3,000 years ago. The species Ursus planafrons Denny, 1864, based on Irish type material is here assigned to Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758.
... In conclusion, we agree with many earlier authors (e.g. Thenius, 1956;Mostecký, 1963;Musil, 1964Musil, , 1996Sabol, 2001aSabol, , 2001bPacher, 2007) on that the true Ursus arctos priscus may have represented a different brown bear form which was adapted to open, steppe-like habitats. ...
... Similarly to C. l. spelaeus, Ursus arctos priscus is not a different species but a form, something like an "ecotype", adapted to open habitats (Marciszak et al., , 2019a. A great size of this bear, commonly documented in the Late Pleistocene brown bears from numerous European sites could have been an adaptation to colder and more barren habitats (Erdbrink, 1953;Ehrenberg, 1955;Kurtén, 1956Kurtén, , 1959Kurtén, , 1968Thenius, 1956;Musil, 1964;Erdbrink, 1967;Ballesio, 1983, Sabol, 2001aBaryshnikov and Boeskorov, 2004;Pacher, 2007;Rabeder and Frischauf, 2016;Marciszak et al., 2017Marciszak et al., , 2019c). An extraordinary size of this bear from the Sudeten sites was already mentioned by Frenzel (1936). ...
The rediscovery of old collections and revision of the fossil material from more than 30 Sudeten caves and rock shelters allow reconstructing the faunal changes during the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. We found that the composition of mammalian assemblages of Sudety Mts during MIS 3 differed significantly from the Holocene and modern one, and reflected the colder climate. Mammals belonging to the Mammuthus-Coelodonta faunal complex inhabited open flattened lowlands (Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia) surrounding Sudeten area. Several large carnivores (Canis lupus spelaeus, Ursus arctos priscus, Ursus ingressus, Gulo gulo, Mustela eversmanii, Panthera spelaea spelaea, Crocuta crocuta spelaea) as well as herbivores (Mammuthus primigenius, Coleodonta antiquitatis, Megaloceros giganteus, Rangifer tarandus, large form of Equus ferus, Bison priscus, and Ovibos moschatus) made up the core of this assemblage.
Our studies showed that most of these faunal elements were also present in Sudety Mts, despite the previous opinion that these mountains formed an effective natural barrier during the Late Pleistocene. Besides, it seems that during cold phases they could be refugees for forest animals, which were also present in the Mammuthus-Coelodonta faunal complex, but lower quantities. They avoided flat treeless Silesian lowlands and concentrated in mountainous and hilly regions. In this context, during the Late Pleistocene Sudety Mts were a “forested island” confined to elevated areas or river valleys. Range extensions, contractions, and continuations on different scales resulted in mammalian paleoassemblages which differed in particular from the modern ones.
The analysis of the mammal faunas from Sudeten sites revealed that there were three heterochronous mammalian faunal complexes replaced each other throughout the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. Differences between these assemblages resulted from changes in morphology, areas and extinction of several species. The existence of different faunal elements was distinguished by the chronological and geographical change in the structure of mammalian assemblages. At the end of MIS 3 most of the cold-adapted species from the Mammuthus-Coelodonta faunal complex like Ursus ingressus, Panthera spelaea spelaea, Coelodonta antiquitatis, Bison priscus, and Megaloceros giganteus disappeared.
During the second phase, at the latest Pleistocene and the Holocene boundary, all the species of the Mammuthus-Coelodonta faunal complex still not became extinct. Several species from this assemblage disappeared later in the Holocene. It should be noted that the role of the human in the changes of faunal complexes and species extinctions during the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene in the Sudety Mts cannot be so far demonstrated.
... Osteological remains of extinct representatives of Ursidae family are among the most common palaeontological discoveries in the Demä- (Sabol, 1999(Sabol, , 2001. However, the species status of U. priscus was recently disputed as the type material has the characteristics of the modern brown bear (U. arctos) (Pacher, 2007 (Fig. 15) and bears have already been described by Sabol (1999Sabol ( , 2006. However, bear fossils (171 teeth, 5 damaged jaws and 1 incomplete juvenile cranium) were determined only as Ursus sp. ...
... Характеризуя морфотипическую изменчивость этого зуба, отметим, что так же, как и для Р4, (Marciszak et al., 2015). Ему же свойственно наличие переднего и заднего бугорков на р4, и иногда присутствует ме таконид (Барышников, 2007;Garcia, Arsuaga, 2001;Pacher et al., 2007;Baryshnikov, 2010 ЗАКЛЮЧЕНИЕ 23 варианта строения выделено и описано для верхнего четвертого премоляра. Наибольшее коли чество морфотипов этого зуба присутствует в вы борке бурых медведей с севера европейской части России. ...
The structure of the upper and lower fourth premolars of the brown (Ursus arctos) and polar (U. maritimus) bears has been studied. Teeth morphotypes have been identified and described. Morphotype frequency is given both for individual samples and the species as a whole. The brown bear is revealed to show a greater degree of morphotypic variability of the premolars. The brown bear is characterized by a more complex structure of the corona compared to the polar bear. It also shows vaster geographic variation of the tooth index complexity. The brown bear populations from Hokkaido have the most complex p4 and demonstrate considerable morphotypic variability. Evolutionary changes of the last premolars in the Ursus subspecies are represented in grinding surface simplification, which is most strongly pronounced in U. maritimus. The teeth of the polar bear are generally better adapted to carnivory than the premolars of the brown bear. Due to fast adaptation to hypercarnivory, the U.maritimus premolars obtained a unique appearance and specific features. Both teeth provide enough information for a rather precise species identification of the two species under study.
... The ursid remains from the site Deutsch-Altenburg do neither differ in metrics of teeth nor of metapodial bones from Middle Pleistocene members of the U. arctos group. In a recent work Pacher (2007) was dealing with the taxonomic status of U. priscus Goldfuss (1818) and concluded that the name Ursus priscus has priority over other synonyma like Ursus " fossilis" Goldfuss (1821). The type specimen of U. priscus, a skull from Zoolithenhöhle (Germany), which is stored in the British Museum, shows no significant differences to a modern brown bear. ...
Over 100 ursid remains were retrieved from the Early Pleistocene cave fillings of the Hollitzer quarry near Deutsch-Altenburg (Lower Austria). Apart from isolated teeth and postcranial (skeleton) elements, there are also one in situ forelimb and an almost complete natural endocast of a brain (“fossil brain”), which enable otherwise impossible comparative studies. The dimensions of the teeth are between the values for the Pliocene Etruscan bear and the Middle Pleistocene Deninger-bear, so that it was initially assumed to be a missing link between the aforementioned species. But the extremities, especially the metapodials, are substantially longer as well as more slender than in Ursus deningeri, and, therefore, specialised in a way which points towards the modern brown bear. The ursid remains from Deutsch-Altenburg, therefore, belong to a primitive representative of the brown bear group. Many cranial characteristics speak in favour of this, such as the external shape of the brain, the expansion of the frontal sinus cavities, as well as the shape of the mandibles. Bear faunas which have been described under various names (U. suessenbornensis, U. rodei and U. dolinensis) are also ascribed to this group of Early and Middle Pleistocene bears with arctos-characteristics. Ursussuessenbornensis Soergel 1926 has priority as it is the oldest name, there is also discussion, however, whether this name should be used as a species or a sub-species term (U. a. suessenbornensis).
The discoveries of Deutsch-Altenburg are also of great importance to the phylogeny and the distribution history of the ursids, because they are the geologically earliest brown bear remains, they question previous theories, and because the split into the brown bear group and the cave bear group must have happened before the Early Pleistocene. Various possible divergence modes are discussed.
The hypothesis of Mazza & Rustioni (1994), according to which it is assumed that the brown bears originated from Asia and only came to Europe during the late Middle Pleistocene, is contradicted, because primitive brown bears exist both in Early Pleistocene faunas (for instance, Deutsch-Altenburg, Untermaßfeld, Atapuerca - Gran Dolina, Süßenborn) and in the Middle Pleistocene (for instance, Hundsheim, Atapuerca - Cueva Mayor, Grays Thurrock), and are, therefore, documented during this time span at least in Central Europe. The thus resulting phylogenetic tree is founded on one hand on these findings, on the other hand it considers new genetic results from the domain of the brown and cave bears of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene.
Esta é uma tradução direcionada não somente ao público acadêmico, mas também a todos aqueles que se interessam pela História da Ciência, mais particularmente pela História da Biologia, da Geologia e da Paleontologia. Neste sentido, a tradução que nos dispusemos a realizar tem como objetivo tornar inteligível e agradável a leitura de importantes textos de Cuvier para qualquer leitor, seja ele um biólogo, um geólogo, um historiador, ou um aficionado da História da Ciência.Nossa proposta de traduzir para o português a principal obra de divulgação das ideias de Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) partiu da constatação de que existe uma crescente demanda de conhecimento de seus trabalhos em países que têm a língua portuguesa como seu idioma. Esta demanda tem sido promovida com a crescente importância que a comunidade acadêmico-científica tem atribuído à História e Filosofia das Ciências, especialmente no Brasil.
The present work describes the dentognathic remains of Ursus etruscus Cuvier, 1823 from the recently discovered Taurida cave in central Crimea at the north Black Sea area. The bone-bearing layer of Taurida cave corresponds to the Psekupsian Faunal Assemblage of Eastern Europe and to the Late Villafranchian of Western Europe (ca. 1.8–1.5 Ma). Here, we describe unpublished ursid material unearthed during the excavations performed at the cave in 2020–2021, further comparing it with coeval chronologic and geographic sites around Europe. Our anatomical and biometrical analyses suggest the inclusion of the studied specimens in the hypodigm of the Early Pleistocene medium-sized species Ursus etruscus. The finds of the U. etruscus from the southern part of Eastern Europe provide a link between the western and eastern parts of the species range. Therefore, the finds from Crimea are important for understanding of the morphological diversity and evolution of U. etruscus which is the putative ancestor of both cave bears and brown bears. Furthermore, the study of these remains is also important for understanding the processes of the forming of the large mammal assemblages in the late Early Pleistocene and its relationships with the dispersal of the genus Homo.
Bears (Ursidae) are today widely distributed and are represented by eight species, each adapted to a particular environment. This quite rich and diverse family of carnivorans includes a variety of fossil taxa. The review of the fossil record of this group in Greece revealed the presence of 4 genera with 9 species, from at least 44 sites spanning in time from the middle Turolian to the Late Pleistocene. The earliest ursid evidence is with Indarctos atticus whose holotype was found in the famous site of Pikermi and dated in the middle Turolian. The genus Ursavus is known from late Miocene localities with two species, U. ehrenbergi and U. depereti. Agriotherium sp. has been reported from the early Villafranchian locality Milia. Ursus is represented by six species/groups (U. etruscus, U. deningeri, U. arctos, U. thibetanus, and U. spelaeus and U. spelaeus group). Two sites, Petralona Cave and Loutra Almopias Cave, are identified as being of key importance. From the former site, four bear species are recognized, representing different and not-sychronous assemblages. While from the latter, U. ingressus is reported for the first time in Greece, representing the southernmost distribution in Europe of the species. Finally, we present material from a new locality, Epanomi from Thermaikos Gulf, described and identified as U. cf. etruscus.KeywordsBearsCave bears
Indarctos
Agriotherium
Ursus
MiocenePliocenePleistocene
Variorum of the works of Georges Cuvier: Preliminary Discourse of the Recherches sur les ossemens fossiles 1812, containing the Memory on the ibis of the ancient Egyptians, and the Discours sur les révolutions de la surface du Globe (Discourse on the revolutions of the surface of the Globe) 1825, containing the Determination of the birds called ibis by the ancient Egyptians.
Tradução da obra mais editada de Georges Cuvier (1769-1832), o Discurso sobre as revoluções da superfície do Globo de 1825
E a tradução dos textos: Mémoire sur les espèces d’Élephans tant vivantes que fossiles (Memória sobre espécies de elefantes tanto vivas quanto fósseis” de 1795 e Lettre de G. Cuvier a Jean-Claude Mertrud (Carta de Georges Cuvier a Jean-Claude Mertrud - Texto introdutório do livro Leçons d’Anatomie Comparée (Lições de Anatomia Comparada) de 1800-1805
Over 100 ursid remains were retrieved from the Early Pleistocene cave fillings of the Hollitzer quarry near Deutsch-Altenburg (Lower Austria). Apart from isolated teeth and postcranial (skeleton) elements, there are also one in situ forelimb and an almost complete natural endocast of a brain (“fossil brain”), which enable otherwise impossible comparative studies. The dimensions of the teeth are between the values for the Pliocene Etruscan bear and the Middle Pleistocene Deninger-bear, so that it was initially assumed to be a missing link between the aforementioned species. But the extremities, especially the metapodials, are substantially longer as well as more slender than in Ursus deningeri, and, therefore, specialised in a way which points towards the modern brown bear. The ursid remains from Deutsch-Altenburg, therefore, belong to a primitive representative of the brown bear group. Many cranial characteristics speak in favour of this, such as the external shape of the brain, the expansion of the frontal sinus cavities, as well as the shape of the mandibles. Bear faunas which have been described under various names (U. suessenbornensis, U. rodei and U. dolinensis) are also ascribed to this group of Early and Middle Pleistocene bears with arctos-characteristics. Ursus suessenbornensis Soergel 1926 has priority as it is the oldest name, there is also discussion, however, whether this name should be used as a species or a sub-species term (U. a. suessenbornensis).
The discoveries of Deutsch-Altenburg are also of great importance to the phylogeny and the distribution history of the ursids, because they are the geologically earliest brown bear remains, they question previous theories, and because the split into the brown bear group and the cave bear group must have happened before the Early Pleistocene. Various possible divergence modes are discussed.
The hypothesis of Mazza & Rustioni (1994), according to which it is assumed that the brown bears originated from Asia and only came to Europe during the late Middle Pleistocene, is contradicted, because primitive brown bears exist both in Early Pleistocene faunas (for instance, Deutsch-Altenburg, Untermaßfeld, Atapuerca - Gran Dolina, Süßenborn) and in the Middle Pleistocene (for instance, Hundsheim, Atapuerca - Cueva Mayor, Grays Thurrock), and are, therefore, documented during this time span at least in Central Europe. The thus resulting phylogenetic tree is founded on one hand on these findings, on the other hand it considers new genetic results from the domain of the brown and cave bears of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene.
In many extant animal and plant species in Europe and North America a correlation exists between the geographical location of individuals and the genetic relatedness of the mitochondrial (mt) DNA sequences that they carry. Here, we analyze mtDNA sequences from cave bears, brown bears, cave hyenas, and Neandertals in Europe before the last glacial maximum and fail to detect any phylogeographic patterns similar to those observed in extant species. We suggest that at the beginning of the last glacial maximum, little phylogeographic patterns existed in European mammals over most of their geographical ranges and that current phylogeographic patterns are transient relics of the last glaciation. Cycles of retreat of species in refugia during glacial periods followed by incomplete dispersal from one refugium into other refugia during interglacial periods is likely to be responsible for the deep genetic divergences between phylogeographic clusters of mtDNA seen today.
• ancient DNA
• glacial refugia
• mitochondrial DNA
• Pleistocene
• population structure
In this paper, bear remains coming from three Pleistocene sites of Sicily are studied. In two sites (Acquedolci, near Messina; Contrada Cimillà, near Ragusa) the remains are contained in an assemblage of the Elephas mnaidriensis Faunal Complex (late Middle Pleistocene-Late Pleistocene), while in Contrada Pianetti (near Ragusa) the assemblage is typical of the "Grotta S. Teodoro-Pianetti" Faunal Complex (Late Pleistocene). Morphological and biometrical data are according to those known for Pleistocene and modern Ursus arctos. The bears of Sicily are very similar to mainland ones and seem to have not endemic features due to insular conditions.
A series of distinctive mammalian assemblages spanning much of the British Late Pleistocene is defined on the basis of type localities and a formal biozonation proposed. The Joint Mitnor Cave mammal assemblage-zone includes the famous “Hippopotamus fauna” of the early part of the Last Interglacial complex (Oxygen Isotope Substage 5e). This is succeeded by the Bacon Hole mammal assemblage-zone in which hippopotamus is no longer present and species like mammoth, roe deer and northern vole re-enter the British region. This assemblage-zone appears to represent the later substages of OIS 5. A faunal grouping dominated by bison and reindeer is named the Banwell Bone Cave mammal assemblage-zone and is believed to correlate closely with the Early Devensian (OIS 4). The Pin Hole mammal assemblage-zone includes the familiar mammoth-steppe faunas of the Middle Devensian (OIS 3) dominated by horse, woolly rhinoceros and mammoth. The Lateglacial Interstadial is characterized by the Gough's Cave mammal assemblage-zone in which horse, red deer and humans are well represented (part of OIS 2). No definitive evidence for human activity can be found for a period spanning the Last Interglacial complex (OIS 5) and the Early Devensian (OIS 4). Human populations return to Britain with the Pin Hole mammal assemblage-zone fauna during the Middle Devensian (OIS 3) and reappear after the Dimlington Stadial during the Late Devensian (OIS 2) but in a different faunal association.