Atlas bear
 |
This article needs attention from an expert on the subject. See the talk page for details. WikiProject Mammals or the Mammals Portal may be able to help recruit an expert. (December 2011) |
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2011) |
| Atlas bear | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Probable Atlas bear in Roman mosaic | |
| Conservation status | |
|
Extinct (1870s)
|
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Ursidae |
| Genus: | Ursus |
| Species: | U. arctos |
| Subspecies: | U. a. crowtheri |
| Trinomial name | |
| Ursus arctos crowtheri Schinz, 1844 |
|
The Atlas bear (Ursus arctos crowtheri) is an extinct subspecies of the brown bear, which is sometimes classified as a distinct species.
Contents |
[edit] Range and description
The Atlas bear was Africa's only native bear. Once inhabiting the Atlas Mountains and neighbouring areas, from Morocco to Libya, the animal is now thought to be extinct. The Atlas bear was brownish black in colour, and lacked a white mark on the muzzle. The fur on the underparts was reddish orange. The fur was 4–5 inches (100–130 mm) long. The muzzle and claws were shorter than that of the American black bear, though it was stouter and thicker in body. It apparently fed on roots, acorns and nuts.[1]
[edit] Extinction
Thousands of these bears were hunted for sport, venatio games, or execution of criminals ad bestias following the expansion of the Roman Empire into North Africa (began in 146 BC by creation of Africa), completed in 44 AD/CE by annexation of Mauretania).[citation needed] The last known specimen was probably killed by hunters in the 1870s in the Rif mountains of northern Morocco, although reports still surface.[citation needed] The possibility has been raised that the species might still be alive in eastern Africa, and is the source of the cryptid known as the nandi bear, but this theory has essentially been ruled out by biogeography.[citation needed] Nonetheless, as the known distribution of the Atlas bear is a relict of the desertification of the Sahara,[citation needed] its ancestor may have been widespread in northern and eastern Africa in prehistoric times.
[edit] References
- ^ Bruin: The Grand Bear Hunt By Mayne Reid, Published by Ticknor and Fields, 1865
- Hamdinea, Watik; Thévenotb, Michel; Michaux, Jacques (1998). "Histoire récente de l'ours brun au Maghreb" (in French). Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences 321 (7): 565–570. doi:10.1016/S0764-4469(98)80458-7.
- Day, David (1981). The Doomsday Book of Animals: A Natural History of Vanished Species. Viking Press. pages 168-170 (includes illustration) ISBN 0670279870
[edit] External links
 |
Wikispecies has information related to: Ursus arctos crowtheri |
- Atlas bear at the Encyclopedia of Life
