| Ursus ingressus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Ursidae |
| Genus: | Ursus |
| Species: | †U. ingressus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Ursus ingressus Rabeder et al., 2004 [1] | |
Ursus ingressus (the Gamssulzen Cave bear) is an extinct species of the family Ursidae that lived in Central Europe during the Late Pleistocene. It is named after the Gamssulzen Cave in Austria, where the holotype of this species was found. [2]
Ursus ingressus was a large cave bear with massive, bulky limbs. It was larger than Ursus spelaeus , which has been estimated to weigh an average of 350 to 600 kg (770 to 1,320 lb) (male specimen). [2] [3]
Some studies have suggested the Gamssulzen Cave bear to have been herbivorous, living off vegetation with little contribution of grass. [4] Other studies proposed Ursus ingressus to have been an omnivore, with participation of terrestrial and more likely aquatic animal protein, that exceeds the participation of animal protein in the diet of the modern brown bear (Ursus arctos). [5] However it has also been suggested, that the feeding habits of cave bears can vary heavily depending on the environment. [6]
Skulls with bite damage from Zoolithen Cave in Germany suggest that Ursus ingressus came into conflicts with other big carnivores of the Late Pleistocene of Europe like the cave lion (Panthera spelaea) or the cave hyena (Crocuta crocuta spelaea). [7]
It has been suggested that the Gamssulzen Cave bear dominated Ursus spelaeus in Central and Eastern Europe, while being out-competed by this species in Western Europe. Around 50,000 years ago, the Gamssulzen Cave bear migrated into the Alps and replaced two former populations of Ursue spelaeus: Ursus spelaeus eremus and Ursus spelaeus ladinicus. Ursus ingressus has been found as far east as the Ural Mountains in Russia and as far west as the Swabian Jura in Germany. [6] [8]
It has mostly been found in medium and high elevated regions and probably was adapted to continental environments with cold and arid climate. [9]
Ursus ingressus and Ursus spelaeus evolved from Ursus deningeri and probably diverged between 173,000 and 414,000, or possibly as much as 600,000 years ago. [6] [2] Some studies still question whether U. ingressus and U. spelaeus are separate species, instead treating them as subspecies of a single species. [9]
The Gamssulzen Cave bear survived U. spelaeus for about 1000 to 2000 years, locally replacing this species, but also became extinct about 30,000 years ago, just prior to the Last Glacial Maximum. The reasons for their extinction are still being discussed, with climate change and human hunting suggested as possible reasons. [8] [10]
Panthera is a genus within the family Felidae that was named and described by Lorenz Oken in 1816 who placed all the spotted cats in this group. Reginald Innes Pocock revised the classification of this genus in 1916 as comprising the tiger, lion, jaguar, and leopard on the basis of common cranial features. Results of genetic analysis indicate that the snow leopard also belongs to the genus Panthera, a classification that was accepted by IUCN Red List assessors in 2008.
The cave bear is a prehistoric species of bear that lived in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene and became extinct about 24,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum.
Ursinae is a subfamily of Ursidae (bears) named by Swainson (1835). It was assigned to Ursidae by Bjork (1970), Hunt (1998), and Jin et al. (2007).
Ursus is a genus in the family Ursidae (bears) that includes the widely distributed brown bear, the polar bear, the American black bear, and the Asian black bear. The name is derived from the Latin ursus, meaning bear.
Panthera spelaea, also known as the cave lion or steppe lion, is an extinct Panthera species that most likely evolved in Europe after the third Cromerian interglacial stage, less than 600,000 years ago. Genetic analysis of ancient DNA has revealed that while closely related, it was distinct species genetically isolated from the modern lion occurring in Africa and Asia, with the genetic divergence between the two species variously estimated between 1.9 million and 600,000 years ago. It is closely related and probably ancestral to the American lion. The species ranged from Western Europe to eastern Beringia in North America, and was a prominent member of the mammoth steppe fauna. It became extinct about 13,000 years ago.
Pachycrocuta is an extinct genus of prehistoric hyenas. The largest and most well-researched species is Pachycrocuta brevirostris, colloquially known as the giant short-faced hyena as it stood about 90–100 cm (35–39 in) at the shoulder and it is estimated to have averaged 110 kg (240 lb) in weight, approaching the size of a lioness, making it the largest known hyena. Pachycrocuta first appeared during the late Miocene. By 800,000 years ago, it became locally extinct in Europe, with it surviving in East Asia until at least 500,000 years ago, and possibly later elsewhere in Asia.
The history of lions in Europe is based on fossils of Pleistocene and Holocene lions excavated in Europe since the early 19th century. The first lion fossil was excavated in southern Germany, and described by Georg August Goldfuss using the scientific name Felis spelaea. It probably dates to the Würm glaciation, and is 191,000 to 57,000 years old. Older lion skull fragments were excavated in Germany and described by Wilhelm von Reichenau under Felis fossilis in 1906. These are estimated at between 621,000 and 533,000 years old. The modern lion inhabited parts of Southern Europe since the early Holocene.
The straight-tusked elephant is an extinct species of elephant that inhabited Europe and Western Asia during the Middle and Late Pleistocene. Recovered individuals have reached up to 3.81–4.2 metres (12.5–13.8 ft) in shoulder height, and an estimated 11.3–15 tonnes in weight. Like modern elephants, the straight-tusked elephant lived in herds, flourishing during interglacial periods, when its range would extend as far north as Great Britain. Skeletons found in association with stone tools and wooden spears suggest they were scavenged and hunted by early humans, including Neanderthals. It is the ancestral species of most dwarf elephants that inhabited islands in the Mediterranean.
Panthera gombaszoegensis, also known as the European jaguar, is a Panthera species that lived from about 2.0 to 0.35 million years ago in Europe. The first fossils were excavated in 1938 in Gombasek, Slovakia.
Panthera fossilis, is an extinct species of cat belonging to the genus Panthera, known from remains found in Eurasia spanning the Middle Pleistocene and possibly into the Early Pleistocene. P. fossilis has sometimes been referred to by the common names steppe lion or cave lion, though these names are conventionally restricted to the later related species P. spelaea, to which P. fossilis is probably ancestral.
The cave hyena, also known as the Ice Age spotted hyena, is a paleosubspecies of spotted hyena in Eurasia, which ranged from the Iberian Peninsula to eastern Siberia. It is one of the best known mammals of the Ice Age and is well represented in many European bone caves. The cave hyena was a highly specialised animal, with its progressive and regressive features being more developed than in its modern African relative. It preyed on large mammals, and was responsible for the accumulation of hundreds of large Pleistocene mammal bones in areas including horizontal caves, sinkholes, mud pits and muddy areas along rivers.
The Tremarctinae or short-faced bears is a subfamily of Ursidae that contains one living representative, the spectacled bear of South America, and several extinct species from four genera: the Florida spectacled bear, the North American giant short-faced bears Arctodus, the South American giant short-faced bear Arctotherium as well as Plionarctos(P. edensis and P. harroldorum), which is thought to be ancestral to the other three genera. Of these, the giant short-faced bears may have been the largest ever carnivorans in the Americas. The group is thought to have originated in eastern North America, and then invaded South America as part of the Great American Interchange. Most short-faced bears became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene.
Arctodus is an extinct genus of short-faced bear that inhabited North America during the Pleistocene. There are two recognized species: the lesser short-faced bear and the giant short-faced bear. Of these species, A. simus was larger, is known from more complete remains, and is considered one of the most charismatic of North America's megafauna. A. pristinus was largely restricted to the Early Pleistocene of the eastern United States, whereas A. simus had a broader range, with most finds being from the Late Pleistocene of the United States, Mexico and Canada. A. simus evolved from A. pristinus, but both species likely overlapped in the Middle Pleistocene. Both species are relatively rare in the fossil record.
Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis is an extinct species of dwarf elephant belonging to the genus Palaeoloxodon, native to the Siculo-Maltese archipelago during the late Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene. It is derived from the European mainland straight-tusked elephant.
Ursus etruscus is an extinct species of bear, endemic to Europe, Asia and North Africa during the Pliocene through Pleistocene, living from ~5.3 million to 100,000 years ago.
Arctotherium is an extinct genus of the Pleistocene short-faced bears endemic to Central and South America. 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. Arctotherium was adapted to open and mixed habitat. They are genetically closer to the spectacled bear, than to Arctodus of North America, implying the two extinct forms evolved large size in a convergent manner.
Dusicyon avus is an extinct species of cerdocyonine canid in the genus Dusicyon, native to South America during the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. It was medium to large, about the size of a German shepherd. It was closely related to the Falkland Islands wolf (Dusicyon australis), which descended from a population of D. avus. It appears to have survived until very recently, perhaps 400 years ago.
Ursus rossicus is an extinct species of bear that lived in the steppe regions of northern Eurasia and Siberia during the Pleistocene.
The small Sirgenstein Cave, German: Sirgensteinhöhle is situated 565 m (1,854 ft) above sea level inside the 20 m (66 ft) high Sirgenstein, a limestone rock. The cave sits 35 m (115 ft) above the Ach River valley bottom in the central Swabian Jura, southern Germany. Archaeologist R. R. Schmidt excavated the site in 1906 during which he identified indices of prehistoric human presence. He recorded the complete stratigraphic sequence of Palaeolithic and Neolithic origin. In his 1910 analysis Schmidt inspired future archaeologists with his pioneering concept of including the excavation site within its geographic region, contextualizing it within a wide scientific spectrum and demonstrated valuable results as he correlated the Sirgenstein layer structure to those of prehistoric sites in France. Mammoth ivory beads dating from 39,000 to 35,000 years ago have been uncovered at the cave. Because of its historical and cultural significance and its testimony to the development of Paleolithic art, the cave was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura site in 2017.
Canis etruscus, the Etruscan wolf, is an extinct species of canine that was endemic to Mediterranean Europe during the Early Pleistocene. The Etruscan wolf has been described as a small wolf-like dog. The Etruscan wolf has been accepted as the ancestor of C. mosbachensis, that is the ancestor of the grey wolf, for a long time. Recent research has suggested that C. borjgali from Dmanisi has to be considered the ancestor of C. mosbachensis.