''Ursus ingressus'' (the Gamssulzen Cave bear) is an extinct species of the family

Ursidae Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nort ...

that lived in

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...

during the Late

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

. It is named after the Gamssulzen Cave in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, where the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

of this species was found.Gernot Rabeder (2004): Die Höhlenbären der Sulzfluh-Höhlen, Vorarlberger Naturschau 15, Seite 103–114

Description

''Ursus ingressus'' was a large cave bear with massive, bulky limbs. It was larger than ''

Ursus spelaeus The cave bear (''Ursus spelaeus'') is a prehistoric species of bear that lived in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene and became extinct about 24,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum. Both the word "cave" and the scientific name ''sp ...

'', which has been estimated to weigh an average of (male specimen).

Behaviour

Some studies have suggested the Gamssulzen Cave bear to have been

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

, living of vegetation with little contribution of grass. Other studies proposed ''Ursus ingressus'' to have been an

omnivore An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutr ...

, with participation of terrestrial and more likely aquatic animal protein, that exceeds the participation of animal protein in the diet of the modern

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...

''(Ursus arctos)''. However it has also been suggested, that the feeding habits of cave bears can vary heavily depending on the environment. Skulls with bite damage from Zoolithen Cave in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

suggest that ''Ursus ingressus'' came into conflicts with other big

carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...

s of the Late Pleistocene of Europe like the cave lion (''Panthera leo spelaea'') or the

cave hyena The cave hyena (''Crocuta crocuta spelaea''), also known as the Ice Age spotted hyena, was a paleosubspecies of spotted hyena which ranged from the Iberian Peninsula to eastern Siberia. It is one of the best known mammals of the Ice Age and is w ...

(''Crocuta crocuta spelaea'').

Distribution and habitat

It has been suggested that the Gamssulzen Cave bear dominated ''Ursus spelaeus'' in Central and Eastern Europe, while being out-competed by this species in Western Europe. Around 50,000 years ago, the Gamssulzen Cave bear migrated into the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

and replaced two former populations of ''Ursue spelaeus'': ''Ursus spelaeus eremus'' and ''Ursus spelaeus ladinicus''. ''Ursus ingressus'' has been found as far east as the

Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and as far west as the

Swabian Jura The Swabian Jura (german: Schwäbische Alb , more rarely ), sometimes also named Swabian Alps in English, is a mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending from southwest to northeast and in width. It is named after the region of ...

in Germany. It has mostly been found in medium and high elevated regions and probably was adapted to continental environments with cold and arid climate.Baca, Mateusz, Stankovic, Anna, Stefaniak, Krzysztof, Marciszak, Adrian, Hofreiter, Michael, Nadachowski, Adam, Węgleński, Piotr, and Mackiewicz, Paweł. 2012. Genetic analysis of cave bear specimens from Niedźwiedzia Cave, Sudetes, Poland. ''Palaeontologia Electronica'' Vol. 15, Issue 2;21A,16p

Evolution and extinction

''Ursus ingressus'' and ''Ursus spelaeus'' evolved from ''

Ursus deningeri ''Ursus deningeri'' (Deninger's bear) is an extinct species of bear, endemic to Eurasia during the Pleistocene for approximately 1.7 million years, from . The range of this bear has been found to encompass both Europe and Asia, demonstrating the ...

'' and probably diverged between 173,000 and 414,000, or possibly as much as 600,000 years ago. Some studies still question whether ''U. ingressus'' and ''U. spelaeus'' are separate species, instead treating them as

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of a single species. The Gamssulzen Cave bear survived ''U. spelaeus'' for about 1000 to 2000 years, locally replacing this species, but also became extinct about 30,000 years ago, just prior to the

Last Glacial Maximum The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Late Glacial Maximum, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period that ice sheets were at their greatest extent. Ice sheets covered much of Northern North America, Northern Eur ...

. The reasons for their extinction are still being discussed, with climate change and human hunting suggested as possible reasons.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q30693320 Pleistocene bears Pleistocene carnivorans Pleistocene mammals of Europe