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Post by Gorilla king on Aug 14, 2021 9:39:34 GMT -5
Ursus etruscus (the Etruscan bear) 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.
Taxonomy
Ursus etruscus appears to have evolved from Ursus minimus and gave rise to the modern brown bear, Ursus arctos, and the extinct cave bear, Ursus spelaeus.[1] The range of Ursus etruscus was mostly continental Europe with specimens also recovered in the Great Steppe region of Eurasia. Fossil evidence for Ursus etruscus was recovered in Palestine, Croatia, and Tuscany, Italy.
Some scientists have proposed that the early, small variety of U. etruscus of the middle Villafranchian era survives in the form of the modern Asian black bear.[2]
Morphology
Not unlike the brown bears of Europe in size, it had a full complement of premolars, a trait carried from the genus Ursavus.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursus_etruscus
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Post by Gorilla king on Aug 14, 2021 9:43:56 GMT -5
Revisiting Ursus etruscus (Carnivora, Mammalia) from the Early Pleistocene of Greece with description of new material
Abstract
The Villafranchian ursids of Greece are scanty, represented by a few isolated teeth and bones. During our last field campaigns in the Mygdonia Basin (Macedonia, Greece) we discovered an almost complete cranium, as well as some cranial, dental and postcranial remains, which are presented in this article. The new material originates from the locality Tsiotra Vryssi (TSR), dated to the late Villafranchian (1.8–1.2 Ma). The specimens are described and compared with ursids from various European localities; their morphological characters and dimensions place it with Ursus etruscus Cuvier, 1823, while the dental features are most similar to the specimens from Pietrafitta (Italy). The TSR cranium was CT-scanned in order to create a 3D virtual model and study its internal anatomy. Its observed endocranial traits exhibit primitive conditions, confirming the basal position of U. etruscus among the Pleistocene European ursids. Most of these features are shared with U. arctos and clearly differ from U. deningeri and U. spelaeus. Finally, we provide a revision of the known Greek material of U. etruscus and the biostratigraphic distribution of the Miocene–Pleistocene ursids of Greece. The earliest secure appearance of Ursus etruscus in Greece is found in the locality Dafnero 1 (Western Macedonia), dated to the end of the middle Villafranchian at ∼2.0 Ma, whereas its probable last occurrence is known from the locality Apollonia 1 of the Mygdonia Basin, dated to the latest Villafranchian at ∼1.2 Ma.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1040618217306985
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Post by Gorilla king on Aug 14, 2021 9:48:30 GMT -5
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Post by Gorilla king on Aug 14, 2021 9:51:44 GMT -5
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Post by Gorilla king on Aug 14, 2021 9:55:48 GMT -5
Ursus etruscus Cuvier, 1823 from the Early Pleistocene of Monte Argentario (Southern Tuscany, Central Italy)
Abstract
Ursus etruscus fossils have been recovered in the Monte Argentario site (late Villafranchian, Early Pleistocene, Tuscany). Teeth and bones show the typical morphology of the Etruscan bear. The occurrence of this species in the Early Pleistocene Monte Argentarlo faunal assemblage and other coeval sites (i.e. Pirro Nord) is very important in the framework of the Early Pleistocene biochronology. The occurrence of Etruscan bear at Monte Argentario and Pirro Nord confirms that Ursus etruscus persists in the Early Pleistocene assemblages, representing therefore an European carnivore coexisting with new taxa dispersing from Africa and Asia.
www.researchgate.net/publication/289735304_Ursus_etruscus_Cuvier_1823_from_the_Early_Pleistocene_of_Monte_Argentario_Southern_Tuscany_Central_Italy
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Post by Gorilla king on Aug 14, 2021 9:58:47 GMT -5
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Post by Gorilla king on Aug 14, 2021 10:09:56 GMT -5
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Post by tyrannosaurs on Aug 14, 2021 12:10:59 GMT -5
Late Villafranchian Ursus etruscus and other large carnivorans from the Orce sites (Guadix-Baza basin, Andalusia, southern Spain): Taxonomy, biochronology, paleobiology, and ecogeographical context: Dental morphology and tooth microwear studies are used as analytical proxies for understanding the taxonomy, biochronology, paleobiology and ecogeographical context of Early Pleistocene Ursus species (U. etruscus) and other large carnivore taxa (Hyaenidae and Canidae) preserved in the Early Pleistocene (Calabrian) sites from Orce (Guadix-Baza basin, Andalusia, Spain), including Venta Micena (VM), Barranco León (BL-D) and Fuente Nueva-3 (FN-3). The results of this study suggest varied dietary habits and behavior among Ursus species and other carnivorous taxa. Morphologically, the bunodont dentition and microwear patterns of Ursus etruscus advanced forms from VM, BL-D and FN-3 indicate their omnivorous feeding ecology, in agreement with the dietary habits of extant brown bear, Ursus arctos (a purported descendant of U. etruscus). However, in the case of VM isotopic analyses of bioapatite and bone collagen suggest a significant contribution of fish in their diet, as in the case of some populations of modern brown bear, and also a regular consumption of plant tissues, as evidenced by the comparatively high δ15N and δ18O values in this extinct species, respectively. www.researchgate.net/publication/284132836_Late_Villafranchian_Ursus_etruscus_and_other_large_carnivorans_from_the_Orce_sites_Guadix-Baza_basin_Andalusia_southern_Spain_Taxonomy_biochronology_paleobiology_and_ecogeographical_context
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Post by Gorilla king on Dec 5, 2021 11:29:39 GMT -5
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Post by Gorilla king on May 21, 2022 6:17:44 GMT -5
Paleontologists have discovered the jaws of a rare bear in Taurida Cave
Newswise — A group of paleontologists, included researchers from the Ural Federal University (UrFU), discovered the jaws of an Etruscan bear from the early Pleistocene period (2–1.5 million years ago) in the Taurida cave. The remains of Etruscan bears (which is the ancestor of brown and cave bears) as part of the fauna of large mammals of the early Pleistocene were found in Western Europe, Asia, and North Africa. And now it is found in the Crimea. The bones indicate that the ancestor of modern man, the early Homo, most likely lived on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula almost 2 million years ago. The discovery was reported in the paleobiology journal Historical Biology.
“Our finding, on the one hand, extends the geography of distribution of the Etruscan bear in Eastern Europe, and on the other hand, it indicates that the “Crimean” bear is a link between Asian and European relatives. On the third hand, it helps to characterize the evolutionary features within the bears and the historical biogeography of this species,” said Dmitry Gimranov, senior researcher at the Laboratory of Natural Science Methods in the Humanities at UrFU.
Excavations by paleontologists were carried out in 2020–2021. The remains were found in the pre-surface layer of deposits of Taurida, in a small chamber called the “Hyena Den”. As a result of the research, it was established the features of life and the fact that the Etruscan bear coexisted next to such large predators as lynxes, giant hyenas, saber-toothed cats, wolves, with whom it had to compete for food resources just as it probably did with humans.
“More than 2 million years ago, together with the fauna of that time - antelopes, bulls, elephants, hyenas, Etruscan bears - the ancient man Homo moved towards Eurasia,” says Dmitry Gimranov. “As a rule, the presence of members of these faunas in the territories of Western Europe correlates with the presence of ancient Homo. The remains of ancient people have not yet been found in Taurida, most likely they were there, we just haven’t found them yet. But the structure of the Taurida's fauna - Etruscan bear, saber-toothed tigers, hyenas and other large mammals - suggests that at that time the migration routes of ancient people could pass through this territory.”
The Etruscan bear was a typical representative of European faunas during the early Homo period, scientists believe. They concluded by comparing finds from the Taurida cave and its closest point with the same fauna of the same age Dmanisi (Georgia), where the earliest Eurasian Homo remains were found.
At the next stage of the work, paleontologists plan to study the food habits and ecological characteristics of the Etruscan bears. This will help to understand how they competed for food resources with other large predators.
Note
The Taurida Cave was discovered in Crimea in 2018. It is located 15 km east of Simferopol on the Inner Ridge of the Crimean Mountains. The bone layer of the cave corresponds to the fauna of Eastern Europe and the late Villafranchian of Western Europe (about 1.8–1.5 Ma). Taurida is rich in bones of early Pleistocene mammals. During two seasons of excavations, paleontologists found there the remains of the Issuar lynx, the skull of the giant hyena Pachycrocuta, and the bones of other ancient animals.
www.google.com/amp/s/www.newswise.com/articles/paleontologists-have-discovered-the-jaws-of-a-rare-bear-in-taurida-cave
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