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Ursus americanus (black bear)

Mammalia - Carnivora - Ursidae

Taxonomy
Ursus americanus was named by Pallas (1780). It is extant.

It was recombined as Euarctos americanus by Ewer (1973).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1780Ursus americanus Pallas
1821Ursus luteolus Griffith p. 236
1853Ursus amplidens Leidy
1859Ursus amblyceps Baird p. 29
1896Ursus floridanus Merriam p. 81
1900Ursus californiensis Miller p. 250
1901Ursus carlottae Osgood p. 30
1902Ursus americanus Hay p. 763
1902Ursus amplidens Hay p. 763
1903Ursus altifrontalis Elliot p. 234
1903Ursus machetes Elliot p. 235
1905Ursus kermodei Hornaday p. 82
1913Euarctos vitabilis Gidley
1938Ursus optimus Schultz
1967Ursus americanus Wilson p. 210
1973Euarctos americanus Ewer
1980Ursus americanus Kurten and Anderson p. 183
1985Ursus americanus Emslie and Czaplewski p. 2
1999Ursus americanus Waits et al. p. 90
2001Ursus americanus Larivière p. 1
2019Ursus americanus Albright et al. p. 176

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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
RankNameAuthor
—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
speciesamericanusPallas 1780

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.

Ursus americanus Pallas 1780 [black bear]
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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]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
partNmean

Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: terrestrialsubc
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: ground dwellingf
Diet: herbivores
Diet 2: carnivores
Reproduction: viviparoussubc
Comments: "non-vertebrate/meat group" (Van Valkenburgh 1988)s
Created: 2009-01-04 14:27:33
Modified: 2009-01-04 16:29:08
Source: s = species, f = family, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Hendy et al. 2009, Lillegraven 1979, Ji et al. 2002, Nowak 1991, Van Valkenburgh 1988, Carroll 1988

Age range: base of the Quaternary to the top of the Holocene or 2.58000 to 0.00000 Ma

Collections (69 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Blancan4.9 - 1.8USA (California) Ursus americanus (20117)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117USA (West Virginia) Ursus americanus (124319)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117USA (Tennessee) Euarctos americanus (74246) Ursus americanus (93253) Ursus floridanus (74240)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117USA (Florida) Ursus americanus (227368)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117USA (Mississippi) Ursus amplidens (161194)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117USA (Louisiana) Euarctos americanus (162635)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117USA (Maryland) Ursus americanus (126660)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117USA (New York) Ursus americanus (222867)
Quaternary2.58 - 0.0USA (Virginia) Ursus americanus (96683)
Irvingtonian1.8 - 0.3USA (Maryland) Ursus americanus, Euarctos vitabilis, Ursus vitabilis (20302)
Irvingtonian1.8 - 0.3USA (Arkansas) Euarctos americanus (20290)
Irvingtonian1.8 - 0.3USA (West Virginia) Ursus americanus (20554)
Irvingtonian1.8 - 0.3USA (Pennsylvania) Euarctos americanus (20479) Ursus americanus (20354)
Irvingtonian1.8 - 0.3USA (Iowa) Ursus americanus (20556)
Irvingtonian1.8 - 0.3USA (Florida) Ursus americanus (20520)
Rancholabrean0.3 - 0.012USA (Florida) Ursus americanus (20491)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Alabama) Ursus americanus (84195)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Illinois) Ursus americanus (93486)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (California) Ursus americanus (73752 74235)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Virginia) Ursus americanus (82258 103991 104664 104669)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Georgia) Ursus americanus (13066)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (late glacial)0.129 - 0.0117Canada (British Columbia) Ursus americanus (74496)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Michigan) Ursus americanus (63229 200628)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (late glacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Colorado) Ursus americanus (74954)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (interglacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Indiana) Ursus americanus (20600)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (high glacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (New Mexico) Ursus americanus (76059 76060)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (late glacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Florida) Ursus americanus (154722)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Nevada) Ursus americanus (93278 93279)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (West Virginia) Ursus americanus (93332)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (interglacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Alabama) Ursus americanus (84181)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (high glacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Texas) Ursus americanus (93103)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (interglacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Florida) Ursus americanus (20571 20572 20636 20647)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (New Mexico) Ursus americanus (93141)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Florida) Ursus americanus (74292 154936) Ursus floridianus (34269)
Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene0.129 - 0.0Mexico (Chihuahua) Ursus americanus (71263)
Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene0.129 - 0.0USA (Mississippi) Ursus americanus (93345 93348)
Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene0.129 - 0.0USA (Virginia) Ursus americanus (104034)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0USA (Ohio) Ursus americanus (195062 195065 195066 195067 195069)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0USA (Alaska) Ursus americanus (93335 93336 93337 93338)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Canada (Quebec) Ursus americanus (221970 224189)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0USA (Maine) Ursus americanus (176524)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0USA (Virginia) Ursus americanus (104037 104675)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0USA (Massachusetts) Ursus americanus (176525)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Canada (Ontario) Ursus americanus (221863)