PBDB Taxon

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

Ursus

Mammalia - Carnivora - Ursidae

Taxonomy

Ursus was named by Linnaeus (1758). It is extant. Its type is Ursus arctos.

It was assigned to Ferae by Linnaeus (1758); to Ursina by Gray (1825); to Ursinae by Kurten and Anderson (1980), Waits et al. (1999), Larivière (2001); to Ursini by Hunt (1998), Jin et al. (2007); and to Ursidae by Hay (1902), Wilson (1967), Kurten (1968), Ewer (1973), DeMaster and Stirling (1981), Carroll (1988), Capasso Barbato and Gliozzi (1995), Geraads (1997), Werdelin and Peigne (2010), Medin et al. (2017), Koufos et al. (2018), Albright et al. (2019).

Species lacking formal opinion data

U. denigeri, U. ehrenbergi, U. gombaszoegensis, U. microdontus, U. ruscinensis, U. sackdillingensis, U. spelaearctos, U. spelaeous, U. thibetamus

Synonyms

Danis was named by Gray (1825). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Ursus by Larivière (2001).

It was assigned to Ursina by Gray (1825).
Prochilus was named by Illiger (1811) [objective homonym Melursus]. It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Ursus by Larivière (2001).

It was assigned to Ursina by Gray (1825).
Thalassarctos was named by Gray (1825) [emendation of Thalarctos Gray 1825]. It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Ursus by DeMaster and Stirling (1981), Larivière (2001).

It was assigned to Ursina by Gray (1825).
Thalarctos was named by Gray (1825). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Ursus by Waits et al. (1999), Larivière (2001).

It was assigned to Ursidae by Ewer (1973).
Euarctos was named by Gray (1864) [also said to be 1865]. It is extant.

It was reranked as Ursus (Euarctos) by Gidley (1913); it was synonymized subjectively with Ursus by Waits et al. (1999).

It was assigned to Ursus by Gidley (1913); and to Ursidae by Ewer (1973).
Arceus was named by Goldfuss (1809). It is extant. Its type is Arceus niger.

It was synonymized subjectively with Melursus by Waits et al. (1999); it was synonymized subjectively with Ursus by Larivière (2001).
Chondrorhynchus was named by Fisher (1814) ["Type species unspecified. Evidently a sloth bear from India." (LariviÃ¨re 2001)]. It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Ursus by Larivière (2001).
Myrmarctos was named by Gray (1864). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Ursus by Larivière (2001).
Thalassiarchus was named by Kobelt (1896) [another emendation of Thalarctos]. It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Ursus by Larivière (2001).
Ursarctos was named by Heude (1898). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Ursus by Larivière (2001).
Melanarctos was named by Heude (1898). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Ursus by Larivière (2001).
Arcticonus was named by Pocock (1917). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Ursus by Larivière (2001).
Vetularctos was named by Merriam (1918). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Ursus by Larivière (2001).
Mylarctos was named by Lönnberg (1923). It is extant. Its type is Ursus pruinosus.

It was synonymized subjectively with Ursus by Larivière (2001).
Helarctos was named by Horsfield (1826) [also said to be 1825]. It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Ursus by Waits et al. (1999), Larivière (2001).

It was assigned to Ursina by Gray (1825); and to Ursidae by Ewer (1973), Carroll (1988).
Selenarctos was named by Heude (1901). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Ursus by Waits et al. (1999), Larivière (2001).

It was assigned to Ursidae by Ewer (1973), Carroll (1988).

Synonymy list

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

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Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Bilateria
—	Eubilateria	Ax 1987
—	Deuterostomia
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1874
subphylum	Vertebrata
superclass	Gnathostomata
—	Eugnathostomata
—	Teleostomi	(Bonaparte 1836)
subclass	Sarcopterygii	()
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha	(Nelson 2006)
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha	()
—	Tetrapoda
—	Reptiliomorpha
—	Anthracosauria
subclass	Amphibiosauria	Kuhn 1967
—	Cotylosauria	()
—	Amniota
subclass	Synapsida
—	Therapsida	()
infraorder	Cynodontia	()
—	Mammaliamorpha
—	Mammaliaformes

Rank	Name	Author
class	Mammalia
—	Cladotheria
—	Zatheria
subclass	Tribosphenida	()
subclass	Theria
—	Eutheria	()
—	Placentalia
—	Boreoeutheria
—	Laurasiatheria
—	Scrotifera
—	Ferae	()
—	Carnivoramorpha	Wyss and Flynn 1993
—	Carnivoraformes	Flynn et al.
order	Carnivora
suborder	Caniformia	Kretzoi 1943
infraorder	Canoidea	(Simpson 1931)
superfamily	Arctoidea	Flower 1869
—	Ursida
superfamily	Ursoidea	Fischer de Waldheim 1817
family	Ursidae	Gray 1825
subfamily	Ursinae	Swainson 1835
tribe	Ursini
genus	Ursus

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

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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 maritimus Kurten 1964

†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