Basic info Taxonomic history Classification Included Taxa
Morphology Ecology and taphonomy External Literature Search Age range and collections

Ursus

Mammalia - Carnivora - Ursidae

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1758Ursus Linnaeus p. 47
1809Arceus Goldfuss p. 301
1811Prochilus Illiger p. 109
1814Chondrorhynchus Fisher p. 142
1825Thalarctos Gray p. 62
1825Danis Gray p. 339
1825Helarctos Gray p. 339
1825Prochilus Gray p. 339
1825Thalassarctos Gray p. 339
1825Ursus Gray p. 339
1826Helarctos Horsfield p. 221
1864Euarctos Gray
1864Myrmarctos Gray
1896Thalassiarchus Kobelt p. 93
1898Ursarctos Heude p. 17
1898Melanarctos Heude p. 18
1901Selenarctos Heude p. 2
1902Ursus Hay p. 763
1913Ursus (Euarctos) Gidley p. 96
1917Arcticonus Pocock p. 129
1918Vetularctos Merriam p. 131
1923Mylarctos Lönnberg p. 91
1967Ursus Wilson p. 210
1968Ursus Kurten p. 119
1973Euarctos Ewer
1973Helarctos Ewer
1973Selenarctos Ewer
1973Thalarctos Ewer
1973Ursus Ewer
1980Ursus Kurten and Anderson p. 182
1981Ursus DeMaster and Stirling p. 1
1988Helarctos Carroll
1988Selenarctos Carroll
1988Ursus Carroll
1995Ursus Capasso Barbato and Gliozzi p. 241
1997Ursus Geraads p. 155
1998Ursus Hunt, Jr. p. 185
1999Ursus Waits et al. p. 86
2001Ursus Larivière p. 1
2007Ursus Jin et al. p. 10935
2010Ursus Werdelin and Peigne p. 614
2017Ursus Medin et al. p. 27
2018Ursus Koufos et al.
2019Ursus Albright et al. p. 176

Is something missing? Join the Paleobiology Database and enter the data

RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
subclassSynapsida
Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
Mammaliamorpha
Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
Theriamorpha(Rowe 1993)
RankNameAuthor
Theriiformes()
Trechnotheria
Cladotheria
Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
Eutheria()
Placentalia
Boreoeutheria
Laurasiatheria
Scrotifera
Ferae()
CarnivoramorphaWyss and Flynn 1993
CarnivoraformesFlynn et al.
orderCarnivora
suborderCaniformiaKretzoi 1943
infraorderCanoidea(Simpson 1931)
superfamilyArctoideaFlower 1869
Ursida
superfamilyUrsoideaFischer de Waldheim 1817
familyUrsidaeGray 1825
subfamilyUrsinaeSwainson 1835
tribeUrsini
genusUrsus

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. Ursus Linnaeus 1758
show all | hide all
Ursus americanus Pallas 1780 [black bear]
+
Invalid names: Euarctos vitabilis Gidley 1913 [synonym], Ursus altifrontalis Elliot 1903 [synonym], Ursus amblyceps Baird 1859 [synonym], Ursus amplidens Leidy 1853 [synonym], Ursus californiensis Miller 1900 [synonym], Ursus carlottae Osgood 1901 [synonym], Ursus floridanus Merriam 1896 [synonym], Ursus kermodei Hornaday 1905 [synonym], Ursus luteolus Griffith 1821 [synonym], Ursus machetes Elliot 1903 [synonym], Ursus optimus Schultz 1938 [synonym]
Ursus arctos Linnaeus 1758 [brown bear]
+
Invalid names: Danis ferox Desmarest 1817 [synonym], Melanarctos cavifrons Heude 1898 [synonym], Myrmarctos eversmanni Gray 1864 [synonym], Ursus horribilis Ord 1815 [synonym], Ursus procerus Miller, Jr. 1899 [synonym], Ursus pruinosus Blyth 1854 [synonym]
Ursus arvernensis Croizet and Jobert 1828
Ursus boeckhi Schlosser 1899
Ursus deningeri Reichenau 1904
Ursus dentrificius Meyer 1839
Ursus etruscus Cuvier 1823
Ursus inopinatus Merriam 1918
Ursus japonicus Koken 1885
Ursus kokeni Matthew and Granger 1923
Ursus malayanus Raffles 1821 [sun bear]
+
Invalid names: Helarctos euryspilus Horsfield 1826 [synonym]
Ursus maritimus Phipps 1774 [polar bear]
+
Ursus maritimus tyrannus Kurten 1964
Invalid names: Thalarctos polaris Gray 1825 [synonym], Ursus marinus Pallas 1776 [synonym], Ursus polaris Shaw 1792 [synonym]
Ursus praemalayanus von Koenigswald 1935
Ursus priscus Goldfuss 1818
Ursus spelaeus Rosenmüller 1794 [cave bear]
Ursus spelaeus spelaeus Rossenbüller 1794
Ursus thibetanus Cuvier 1823 [Asian black bear]
Invalid names: Arceus Goldfuss 1809 [synonym], Arcticonus Pocock 1917 [synonym], Chondrorhynchus Fisher 1814 [synonym], Danis Gray 1825 [synonym], Euarctos Gray 1864 [synonym], Helarctos Horsfield 1826 [synonym], Melanarctos Heude 1898 [synonym], Mylarctos Lönnberg 1923 [synonym], Myrmarctos Gray 1864 [synonym], Prochilus Illiger 1811 [synonym], Selenarctos Heude 1901 [synonym], Thalarctos Gray 1825 [synonym], Thalassarctos Gray 1825 [synonym], Thalassiarchus Kobelt 1896 [synonym], Ursarctos Heude 1898 [synonym], Vetularctos Merriam 1918 [synonym]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Body mass estimates
estimateequationreference
 102.3 kg Mammalia femur diameterGingerich 1990
 158.0 kg Mammalia humerus diameterGingerich 1990
 97.5 kg Mammalia tibia diameterGingerich 1990
mean: 116.4 kg
Measurements
partNmean
femur diameter127.3
humerus diameter134.4
radius diameter118.6
tibia diameter126.0

Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: terrestrialsubc
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: ground dwellingf
Diet: herbivoref
Diet 2: carnivoref
Reproduction: viviparoussubc
Created: 2005-06-08 10:11:10
Modified: 2005-08-22 19:31:30
Source: f = family, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Hendy et al. 2009, Ji et al. 2002, Nowak 1991, Lillegraven 1979, Carroll 1988

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Messinian to the top of the Holocene or 7.24600 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 5.333 Ma

Collections (473 total)

Oldest occurrences

Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Neogene23.03 - 2.588Italy U. sp. (96713)
Messinian7.246 - 5.333Italy (Piedmont) Euarctos pyrenaicus (172910)
Early/Lower Pliocene5.333 - 3.6Moldova U. thibetanus (198590)
Ruscinian5.333 - 3.2Spain (Soria) U. ruscinensis (40548)
Ruscinian5.333 - 3.2China (Shanxi) U. sp. (42273)
Ruscinian5.333 - 3.2Russian Federation (Stavropol'skaya) U. sp. (40394)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Russian Federation (Rostovskaya Oblast') U. etruscus (39409)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588France (Pyrénées-Orientales) U. thibetanus (181093)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Greece (Athens) U. ehrenbergi (34412)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Georgia U. arvernensis, U. minimus (40392)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Tajikistan U. etruscus (34394 34395 34396 34444)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Georgia (Karthli) U. arvernensis (40393)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Romania U. minimus (40130)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Greece (Macedonia) U. etruscus (34651)
Ruscinian - Villanyian5.333 - 2.588Italy (Tuscany) U. sp. (49353)
Ruscinian - Villanyian5.333 - 2.588Hungary (Barany) U. sp. (35354)
Ruscinian - Villanyian5.333 - 2.588Hungary (Komaromesztergom) U. etruscus (35372)
Pliocene - Pleistocene5.333 - 0.0117Greece (Elada) U. etruscus (34810)
Pliocene - Pleistocene5.333 - 0.0117France (Midi-Pyrenees) U. etruscus (35076)
Pliocene - Pleistocene5.333 - 0.0117France (Auvergne-Rhône-Alps) U. etruscus (44231)