Tremarctos floridanus

[brobear]

Tremarctos floridanus, occasionally called the Florida spectacled bear or rarely Florida short-faced bear is an extinct species of bear in the family Ursidae, subfamily Tremarctinae. T. floridanus was endemic to North America from the Pliocene to Pleistocene epoch (4.9 mya—11,000 years ago), existing for approximately 4.889 million years.


The last species of bear to go extinct seems to have been the Florida cave bear (Tremarctos floridanus; sometimes called the North American spectacled bear). This is a tentative statement, based on remains of this species dated to about 8,000 years ago, found in a flooded cave (subterranean river exposed at the top) in Florida (Kurten and Anderson 1980). The cave, called “Devil’s Den” is now a tourist attraction for scuba divers. The cave was once a sink hole that trapped a number of species, including what appears to be the last known Florida cave bear. The importance of this find is that it indicates persistence of this species for nearly 4,000 years beyond the Pleistocene. It is also only about 1,000 years older than the oldest known T. ornatus, the extant Andean (spectacled) bear of South America, which has no ancestor among South American bears (Stucchi et al. 2009). These two species are the only members of this genus.

The Florida cave bear derives its name from being found in a number of caves, especially in Florida. However, the species once ranged as far north and west as Idaho and California, and as far south as Belize in Central America. The species was quite a bit larger than today’s Andean bear: adult male floridanus may have weighed as much as 300 kg. ( 600 pounds ). They were believed to be mainly herbivorous (Figueirido and Soibelzon 2010); like Andean bears, they may have preyed on some ungulates, but were likely not a direct threat to people.

The range of T. floridanus collapsed through time, and by the late Pleistocene they remained mainly in the warmer climes of the southeastern U.S. In Florida, as well as some other states in this region, T. floridanus appeared to be more common than American black bears. One theory holds that changing climate caused these two species to compete more than they had previously, eventually leading to the extinction of the larger one (Sanders 2002). shaggygod.proboards.com/ 

[brobear]

prehistoric-fauna.com/Tremarctos-floridanus

Tremarctos floridanus
6 reviews
Florida short-faced bear, Florida cave bear (Tremarctos floridanus Gidley, 1928)

Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Dimensions: length - 2.2 m ( 7 feet 3 inches, height - 100-120 сm ( 3 feet 3 inches to 3 feet 11 inches ), weight - 150-300 kg ( 330 to 660 pounds ). 
Temporal range: from the Pliocene - Holocene epoch of North America (4.9 million — 11,000 years ago) 
 

[brobear]

www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/florida-vertebrate-fossils/species/tremarctos-floridanus/

Tremarctos floridanus
Quick Facts
Common Name: Florida spectacled bear

Much more common as a fossil in Florida than the living black bear.

Thought to be primarily a herbivore like the living South American spectacled bear.

Sometimes called the "Florida cave bear" but they are not closely related to the European cave bear, nor is there fossil evidence of a dependence on caves for denning.

Age Range

In Florida, this species is restricted to the Rancholabrean North American land mammal age (late Pleistocene Epoch). There are a few published records of Tremarctos floridanus from the Irvingtonian and Blancan NALMAs (early Pleistocene epoch) in Western North America, but their species level classification needs confirmation.
About 250,000 to 11,000 years ago in Florida, but possibly up to 2 million years ago in western North America.
Scientific Name and Classification
Tremarctos floridanus Gidley, 1928

Source of Species Name: The species name refers to Florida, where the first described specimen of the species was found (Gidley, 1928).

Classification: Mammalia, Eutheria, Carnivora, Caniformia, Arctoidea, Ursida, Ursoidea, Ursidae, Tremarctinae

Alternate Scientific Names: Arctodus floridanus; Tremarctos mexicanus

Overall Geographic Range
Figure 1 Tremarctos floridanus map
Figure 1. Map of Florida, with highlights indicating counties where fossils of the species have been found

Fossils of this species have also been recorded in several localities in southern North America along the Gulf Coast, New Mexico, Mexico, Tennessee, and Georgia (Guilday and Irving, 1967; Kurtén and Anderson, 1980). The type locality is the Golf Course locality in Melbourne, Florida (Gidley, 1928).

Florida Fossil Occurrences
Florida fossil sites with Tremarctos floridanus:



Full list of fossil sites (Click to View)
Discussion
Figure 2 Tremarctos floridanus

Figure 2. A) The edentulous (toothless) right mandible of the North American spectacled bear, Tremarctos floridanus (UF 8526) and B) the left mandible of the North American black bear, Ursus americanus, with the fourth premolar, first molar, and third molar.
Ursidae is the mammalian family that includes all living and fossil bears. Tremarctos floridanus, or the Florida spectacled bear, is an extinct member of the ursid subfamily Tremarctinae. Tremarctine bears are a North and South American group thought to have descended from bears that entered North America from Asia around the Miocene-Pliocene boundary, probably from the Old World bear genus Ursavus (Figueirido and Soibelzon, 2009). Tremarctos floridanus is believed to be closely related to the Andean spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), the only surviving species in the Tremarctinae.

Members of the Tremarctinae are differentiated from members of the Ursinae, a major subfamily of bears that comprises of most other extant bears, by the double masseteric fossa on their mandibles (Figure 2A) and by a characteristic accesory cusp on the buccal (cheek-facing) side between the trigonid and talonid basins of the lower first molar (Figure 3A; Kurtén and Anderson, 1980). In general, tremarctine bears also have shorter, taller skulls, larger, rounder, and more laterally oriented orbits, and well-defined zygomatic arches (Figueirido and Soibelzon, 2009). Ursine bears, on the other hand, have only one masseteric fossa (Figure 2B) on their mandible and more slender, elongated skulls with generally narrower molars (with the exception of the polar bear, Ursus maritimus). The genus Tremarctos is differentiated from other tremarctine bears by the presence of relatively smaller teeth, retention of the anterior premolars (Figure 4), well-defined masseteric fossae, and a W-shaped cusp pattern on the lower first molar (Figure 3B; Kurtén and Anderson, 1980).

Numerous fossils of Tremarctos floridanus are known from Florida. The holotype of this species consists of a partial skull and jaws from Melbourne, Florida (which can be viewed here). The species was initially placed in the genus Arctodus by Gidley (1928), but was later reclassified into the genus Tremarctos by Stock (1950), who also described and named a new species, Tremarctos mexicanus, which was later synonymized with Tremarctos floridanus by Kurtén (1966). The postcranial biology of Tremarctos floridanus is well known from several skeletons discovered in the Devil’s Den locality in Levy County, Florida (Kurtén, 1966), as well as from a skeleton from Grassy Cove Saltpeter Cave, Cumberland County, Tennessee (Guilday and Irving, 1967).

Overall, the anatomy of Tremarctos floridanus is similar to that of Tremarctos ornatus, although the fossil species is about twice as large as the extant spectacled bear. As such, Tremarctos floridanus was probably about as big as a larger American black bear, Ursus americanus (Guilday and Irving, 1967). However, like other bear species, Tremarctos floridanus was sexually dimorphic (Figure 5A-B); males of the species were approximately 25% larger than the females (Kurtén, 1966). However, Tremarctos floridanus was not simply a scaled up version of Tremarctos ornatus; postcranial proportions differed as well. The limb bones (especially the humerus and femur) and the neck of Tremarctos floridanus are relatively longer compared to body length than in Tremarctos ornatus, making the extinct spectacled bear a relatively long-limbed species. However, the paws are relatively shorter and smaller for its body size than those of the Andean spectacled bear. In addition, while most other bears have longer hindlimbs than forelimbs, the hindlimbs of Tremarctos floridanus are around the same length as their fore limbs (Kurtén, 1966).

Cranially, the teeth of Tremarctos floridanus posterior to the canine are anatomically very similar to those of Tremarctos ornatus, the Andean spectacled bear, save their larger size and some proportional differences (Kurtén, 1966). The number of premolars may be reduced in Tremarctos floridanus relative to Tremarctos ornatus, however, and the posterior molars are relatively longer (Kurtén and Anderson, 1980). Like Tremarctos ornatus, Tremarctos floridanus has a short rostrum compared to ursine bears, but is relatively narrow compared Tremarctos ornatus. The frontal bone of the cranium of Tremarctos floridanus also has a characteristic “glabella”, or dome-like protrusion, that is not present in Tremarctos ornatus (Kurtén, 1966). The lower jaws of the two species are also anatomically similar although the fossil form is larger. The ramus of the mandible is taller in the extinct spectacled bear compared to that of the Andean spectacled bear but the relative height of their coronoid processes are about the same.

Fossils of Tremarctos floridanus are sometimes found with those of the extant American black bear, Ursus americanus (Kurtén and Anderson 1980). While aforementioned differences between the skulls and dentition of tremarctine and ursine bears are helpful in identifying these similarly-sized species, the North American spectacled bear can be distinguished from fossil North American black bears by several postcranial features. Like other tremarctine bears, the humerus of Tremarctos floridanus has an entepicondylar foramen, while that of Ursus americanus does not (Figure 5). The proximal end of the radius of Tremarctos floridanus is oval-shaped, but is more triangle-shaped in Ursus americanus (Figure 6). The pelvis of Tremarctos floridanus may be distinguished from that of Ursus americanus by the narrower ischial bar and ridge of the bone around the acetabulum. The femur of Tremarctos floridanus has a taller (more superiorly protruding) greater trochanter than that of Ursus americanus. Axially, anatomy and proportions of the cervical vertebrae differ, and the North American black bear has 14 sets of ribs, while the North American spectacled bear has 13 (Kurtén 1966).

Because they may be found in the same fossil localities, it is likely that Tremarctos floridanus and Ursus americanus had dissimilar ecologies which allowed them to coexist. One hypothesis is that the diet of Tremarctos floridanus and Ursus americanus could have been the factor differentiating their niches (Kurtén and Anderson, 1980). Ursus americanus is an omnivorous species, while Tremarctos floridanus has been hypothesized to have been an herbivorous bear like its closest living relative, Tremarctos ornatus. Herbivory in Tremarctos floridanus is supported by cranial, mandibular, and dental similarities between the extant Andean spectacled bear and the extinct North American spectacled bear, which show many specializations for an herbivorous diet compared to other bears (Kurtén, 1966). A recent morphometric analysis of the shape of the cranium and mandible of tremarctine bears has also lent support to this hypothesis (Figueirido and Soibelzon, 2009).

[brobear]

The Florida short-faced bear, from 350 to 600 pounds ( 158 kg to 272 kg ) was a vegetarian bear the size of a large black bear. 
It is commonly believed that this bear was displaced by the American black. 

[brobear]

www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/florida-vertebrate-fossils/species/tremarctos-floridanus/

Tremarctos floridanus
Quick Facts
Common Name: Florida spectacled bear

Much more common as a fossil in Florida than the living black bear.

Thought to be primarily a herbivore like the living South American spectacled bear.

Sometimes called the "Florida cave bear" but they are not closely related to the European cave bear, nor is there fossil evidence of a dependence on caves for denning.

Age Range

In Florida, this species is restricted to the Rancholabrean North American land mammal age (late Pleistocene Epoch). There are a few published records of Tremarctos floridanus from the Irvingtonian and Blancan NALMAs (early Pleistocene epoch) in Western North America, but their species level classification needs confirmation.
About 250,000 to 11,000 years ago in Florida, but possibly up to 2 million years ago in western North America.

Scientific Name and Classification
Tremarctos floridanus Gidley, 1928

Source of Species Name: The species name refers to Florida, where the first described specimen of the species was found (Gidley, 1928).

Classification: Mammalia, Eutheria, Carnivora, Caniformia, Arctoidea, Ursida, Ursoidea, Ursidae, Tremarctinae

Alternate Scientific Names: Arctodus floridanus; Tremarctos mexicanus

Overall Geographic Range
Figure 1 Tremarctos floridanus map
Figure 1. Map of Florida, with highlights indicating counties where fossils of the species have been found

Fossils of this species have also been recorded in several localities in southern North America along the Gulf Coast, New Mexico, Mexico, Tennessee, and Georgia (Guilday and Irving, 1967; Kurtén and Anderson, 1980). The type locality is the Golf Course locality in Melbourne, Florida (Gidley, 1928).

Discussion
Figure 2 Tremarctos floridanus

Figure 2. A) The edentulous (toothless) right mandible of the North American spectacled bear, Tremarctos floridanus (UF 8526) and B) the left mandible of the North American black bear, Ursus americanus, with the fourth premolar, first molar, and third molar.
Ursidae is the mammalian family that includes all living and fossil bears. Tremarctos floridanus, or the Florida spectacled bear, is an extinct member of the ursid subfamily Tremarctinae. Tremarctine bears are a North and South American group thought to have descended from bears that entered North America from Asia around the Miocene-Pliocene boundary, probably from the Old World bear genus Ursavus (Figueirido and Soibelzon, 2009). Tremarctos floridanus is believed to be closely related to the Andean spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), the only surviving species in the Tremarctinae.

Members of the Tremarctinae are differentiated from members of the Ursinae, a major subfamily of bears that comprises of most other extant bears, by the double masseteric fossa on their mandibles (Figure 2A) and by a characteristic accesory cusp on the buccal (cheek-facing) side between the trigonid and talonid basins of the lower first molar (Figure 3A; Kurtén and Anderson, 1980). In general, tremarctine bears also have shorter, taller skulls, larger, rounder, and more laterally oriented orbits, and well-defined zygomatic arches (Figueirido and Soibelzon, 2009). Ursine bears, on the other hand, have only one masseteric fossa (Figure 2B) on their mandible and more slender, elongated skulls with generally narrower molars (with the exception of the polar bear, Ursus maritimus). The genus Tremarctos is differentiated from other tremarctine bears by the presence of relatively smaller teeth, retention of the anterior premolars (Figure 4), well-defined masseteric fossae, and a W-shaped cusp pattern on the lower first molar (Figure 3B; Kurtén and Anderson, 1980).

Numerous fossils of Tremarctos floridanus are known from Florida. The holotype of this species consists of a partial skull and jaws from Melbourne, Florida (which can be viewed here). The species was initially placed in the genus Arctodus by Gidley (1928), but was later reclassified into the genus Tremarctos by Stock (1950), who also described and named a new species, Tremarctos mexicanus, which was later synonymized with Tremarctos floridanus by Kurtén (1966). The postcranial biology of Tremarctos floridanus is well known from several skeletons discovered in the Devil’s Den locality in Levy County, Florida (Kurtén, 1966), as well as from a skeleton from Grassy Cove Saltpeter Cave, Cumberland County, Tennessee (Guilday and Irving, 1967).

Overall, the anatomy of Tremarctos floridanus is similar to that of Tremarctos ornatus, although the fossil species is about twice as large as the extant spectacled bear. As such, Tremarctos floridanus was probably about as big as a larger American black bear, Ursus americanus (Guilday and Irving, 1967). However, like other bear species, Tremarctos floridanus was sexually dimorphic (Figure 5A-B); males of the species were approximately 25% larger than the females (Kurtén, 1966). However, Tremarctos floridanus was not simply a scaled up version of Tremarctos ornatus; postcranial proportions differed as well. The limb bones (especially the humerus and femur) and the neck of Tremarctos floridanus are relatively longer compared to body length than in Tremarctos ornatus, making the extinct spectacled bear a relatively long-limbed species. However, the paws are relatively shorter and smaller for its body size than those of the Andean spectacled bear. In addition, while most other bears have longer hindlimbs than forelimbs, the hindlimbs of Tremarctos floridanus are around the same length as their fore limbs (Kurtén, 1966).

Cranially, the teeth of Tremarctos floridanus posterior to the canine are anatomically very similar to those of Tremarctos ornatus, the Andean spectacled bear, save their larger size and some proportional differences (Kurtén, 1966). The number of premolars may be reduced in Tremarctos floridanus relative to Tremarctos ornatus, however, and the posterior molars are relatively longer (Kurtén and Anderson, 1980). Like Tremarctos ornatus, Tremarctos floridanus has a short rostrum compared to ursine bears, but is relatively narrow compared Tremarctos ornatus. The frontal bone of the cranium of Tremarctos floridanus also has a characteristic “glabella”, or dome-like protrusion, that is not present in Tremarctos ornatus (Kurtén, 1966). The lower jaws of the two species are also anatomically similar although the fossil form is larger. The ramus of the mandible is taller in the extinct spectacled bear compared to that of the Andean spectacled bear but the relative height of their coronoid processes are about the same.

Fossils of Tremarctos floridanus are sometimes found with those of the extant American black bear, Ursus americanus (Kurtén and Anderson 1980). While aforementioned differences between the skulls and dentition of tremarctine and ursine bears are helpful in identifying these similarly-sized species, the North American spectacled bear can be distinguished from fossil North American black bears by several postcranial features. Like other tremarctine bears, the humerus of Tremarctos floridanus has an entepicondylar foramen, while that of Ursus americanus does not (Figure 5). The proximal end of the radius of Tremarctos floridanus is oval-shaped, but is more triangle-shaped in Ursus americanus (Figure 6). The pelvis of Tremarctos floridanus may be distinguished from that of Ursus americanus by the narrower ischial bar and ridge of the bone around the acetabulum. The femur of Tremarctos floridanus has a taller (more superiorly protruding) greater trochanter than that of Ursus americanus. Axially, anatomy and proportions of the cervical vertebrae differ, and the North American black bear has 14 sets of ribs, while the North American spectacled bear has 13 (Kurtén 1966).

Figure 5 Tremarctos floridanus

Figure 6. The proximal view of A) the right radius of Tremarctos floridanus (UF 47390) and B) the left radius of Ursus americanus (UF 35105). The image of B has been reflected to facilitate visual comparison with A.
Because they may be found in the same fossil localities, it is likely that Tremarctos floridanus and Ursus americanus had dissimilar ecologies which allowed them to coexist. One hypothesis is that the diet of Tremarctos floridanus and Ursus americanus could have been the factor differentiating their niches (Kurtén and Anderson, 1980). Ursus americanus is an omnivorous species, while Tremarctos floridanus has been hypothesized to have been an herbivorous bear like its closest living relative, Tremarctos ornatus. Herbivory in Tremarctos floridanus is supported by cranial, mandibular, and dental similarities between the extant Andean spectacled bear and the extinct North American spectacled bear, which show many specializations for an herbivorous diet compared to other bears (Kurtén, 1966). A recent morphometric analysis of the shape of the cranium and mandible of tremarctine bears has also lent support to this hypothesis (Figueirido and Soibelzon, 2009).

[brobear]

Reconstructed skeletons of a female (white) and a male (black silhouette) Florida cave bear,
Tremarctos floridanus. The sexual dimorphism in size is somewhat enhanced by the fact that
the female is smaller than average, while the male is a particularly large specimen. After Kurten.
[Based on the material from Devil's Den]

B. Kurten, 1966, 1976.

[King Kodiak]

FLORIDA SPECTACLED BEAR TOOTH. (TREMARCTOS FLORIDANUS)



www.darwinandwallace.com/products/copy-of-american-black-bear-tooth-3-8-ursus-americanus

[brobear]

Bear Almanac - Second Edition:

Arctodus pristinus - The lesser short-faced bear was found in a few locations of eastern North America, mostly in Florida. Its face was only slightly shortened, and the teeth were large and high crowned, with very large canines. The lesser short-faced bear was smaller than Arctodus simus.

The Florida cave bear was widely distributed south of the continental ice sheet, along the U.S, Gulf Coast, across Florida, and north to Tennessee, with some evidence in California, Idaho, New Mexico, Texas, Kansas, Georgia, and Mexico. Its forehead was domed, teeth relatively small, neck elongated, and body barrel-like. Its limbs were heavy, the humerus and femur long, the paws short. Large, with a heavier build than the short-faced bear, it was built more like the European cave bear, though not closely related to Ursus spelaeus. And though larger and heavier, it was possibly related to the Andean bear.

[OldGreenGrolar]

Sept 23, 2018 4:47:14 GMT -5 brobear said:

The Florida short-faced bear, from 350 to 600 pounds ( 158 kg to 272 kg ) was a vegetarian bear the size of a large black bear. 
It is commonly believed that this bear was displaced by the American black. 

That was info I have been looking for a while. The Florida spectacled bear being displaced by the American black bear seems believable.

[brobear]

Believable; I agree. ( IMO ) the bears of the genus Ursus are simply better survivors; perhaps more highly advanced in some ways.

[brobear]

By epaiva - This are Short Faced Bears canines from the Pleistocene in Florida, USA. Species is Tremarctos floridanus 
 

[brobear]

www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/florida-vertebrate-fossils/species/tremarctos-floridanus/

Common Name: Florida spectacled bear

Much more common as a fossil in Florida than the living black bear.

Thought to be primarily a herbivore like the living South American spectacled bear.

Sometimes called the "Florida cave bear" but they are not closely related to the European cave bear, nor is there fossil evidence of a dependence on caves for denning.

Age Range

In Florida, this species is restricted to the Rancholabrean North American land mammal age (late Pleistocene Epoch). There are a few published records of Tremarctos floridanus from the Irvingtonian and Blancan NALMAs (early Pleistocene epoch) in Western North America, but their species level classification needs confirmation.
About 250,000 to 11,000 years ago in Florida, but possibly up to 2 million years ago in western North America.

Scientific Name and Classification
Tremarctos floridanus Gidley, 1928

Source of Species Name: The species name refers to Florida, where the first described specimen of the species was found (Gidley, 1928).

Classification: Mammalia, Eutheria, Carnivora, Caniformia, Arctoidea, Ursida, Ursoidea, Ursidae, Tremarctinae

Alternate Scientific Names: Arctodus floridanus; Tremarctos mexicanus

Fossils of this species have also been recorded in several localities in southern North America along the Gulf Coast, New Mexico, Mexico, Tennessee, and Georgia (Guilday and Irving, 1967; Kurtén and Anderson, 1980). The type locality is the Golf Course locality in Melbourne, Florida (Gidley, 1928).

*More info on site.

[brobear]

Seeking information on Tremarctos mexicanus.

[King Kodiak]

There is basically nothing on this bear. Every search comes out with the results of "Tremarctos Floridanus". Most likely they removed Mexicanus and merged it into Floridanus. See here:

Taxonomic relationships of Tremarctos mexicanus

Tremarctos mexicanus belongs to Tremarctos floridanus - Dalquest and Mooser (1980)


www.phylonimbus.com/systematics/231561/tremarctos-mexicanus/

[King Kodiak]

See here, Tremarctos Floridanus ranged as far south as Belize, that is Southeast of Mexico:

domainofthebears.proboards.com/post/1365/thread

And:

Fossils of this species have also been recorded in several localities in southern North America along the Gulf Coast, New Mexico, Mexico, Tennessee, and Georgia (Guilday and Irving, 1967; Kurtén and Anderson, 1980). The type locality is the Golf Course locality in Melbourne, Florida (Gidley, 1928).

domainofthebears.proboards.com/post/23946/thread

[brobear]

The Florida short-faced bear: 331 pounds to 661 pounds.
                                             

[OldGreenGrolar]

The Florida spectacled bear is larger than most American black bears.

[brobear]

Jan 3, 2021 3:39:10 GMT -5 OldGreenGrolar said:

The Florida spectacled bear is larger than most American black bears.

Yes; he was a big bear by inland grizzly standards.

[brobear]

Sharing the title with the sun bear, Tremarctos ornatus is the most arboreal of living bears. Despite his size, I wonder if the forest-loving Tremarctos floridanus might also have been a tree-climber? At least in terms of escape from super-predators such as Arctodus simus. Artwork by roman uchytel:

[brobear]

WORLD OF PREHISTORIC CREATURES
Tremarctos floridanus, a species of bear from Pliocene to Holocene North America. They were about 2.2 m. long and stood 1 to 1.2 m. tall at the shoulder.
Its closest living modern relative is the spectacled bear that lives in South America. Beautiful looking animal in vast green valley. Walking alone Florida cave bear or spectacled short faced bear native to North America from Pliocene 4.9 million year till end of ice age. A heavy build with domed forehead, elongated neck, longer heavier limbs and short paws
by Roman Roman Yevseyev