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The largest known bear, Arctotherium angustidens, from the early Pleistocene Pampean region of Argentina: with a discussion of size and diet trends in bears

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2015

Leopoldo H. Soibelzon  and
Blaine W. Schubert
Leopoldo H. Soibelzon
Affiliation:
1Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), División Paleontología de Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, B1900FWA La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2Department of Geosciences and Don Sundquist Center of Excellence in Paleontology, Box 70357, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee 37614, USA
Blaine W. Schubert
Affiliation:
2Department of Geosciences and Don Sundquist Center of Excellence in Paleontology, Box 70357, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee 37614, USA
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Abstract

The South American giant short-faced bear (Arctotherium angustidens Gervais and Ameghino, 1880) is one of five described Arctotherium species endemic to South America and it is known for being the earliest, largest, and most carnivorous member of the genus. Here we report an extraordinarily large A. angustidens individual exhumed from Ensenadan sediments (early to middle Pleistocene) at Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Based on overall size, degree of epiphyseal fusion, and pathologies, this bear was an old-aged male that sustained serious injuries during life. Body mass of the bear is estimated and compared to other ursid species based on a series of allometric equations. To our knowledge, this specimen now represents the largest bear ever recorded. In light of this discovery, we discuss the evolution of body size in Arctotherium (from large-to-small) and compare this to bears that exhibited different evolutionary trajectories. We suggest that the larger size and more carnivorous nature of A. angustidens, compared to later members of the genus, may reflect the relative lack of other large carnivores and abundance of herbivores in South America just after the Great American Biotic Interchange.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 85 , Issue 1 , January 2011 , pp. 69 - 75
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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