Arctotherium | |
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Life restoration of A. bonariense | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Family: | Ursidae |
Subfamily: | Tremarctinae |
Genus: | †Arctotherium Bravard, 1857 |
Type species | |
†Arctotherium bonariense Gervais, 1852
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Species | |
Synonyms | |
Genus synonymy
Species synonymy
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Arctotherium ("bear beast") is an extinct genus of the Pleistocene short-faced bears endemic to Central and South America.[1] Arctotherium migrated from North America to South America during the Great American Interchange, following the formation of the Isthmus of Panama during the late Pliocene. The genus consists of one early giant form, A. angustidens, and several succeeding smaller species, which were within the size range of modern bears.[2] Arctotherium was adapted to open and mixed habitat.[3] They are genetically closer to the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), than to Arctodus of North America, implying the two extinct forms evolved large size in a convergent manner.[4]
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