''Ursus minimus'' (the Auvergne bear) is an extinct

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

bear 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 No ...

, endemic to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

during the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Pleistocene 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 ...

, living from 5.3 to 1.8 Mya, existing for about . ''U. minimus'' appears to have given rise to ''

Ursus etruscus ''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 ...

''. The range of ''U. minimus'' was continental Europe as far east as the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

and as far south as

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The skeleton of ''U. minimus'' was very similar to that of the larger

Asian black bear The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It lives in the Himalayas, so ...

. With the exception of the age of the bones, it is often difficult to distinguish the remains of ''U. minimus'' from those of modern Asian black bears.''Search for the Golden Moon Bear: Science and Adventure in Pursuit of a New Species'' by Sy Montgomery published by Chelsea Green Publishing, 2009

Fossil distribution

Sites and specimen ages: *Kossiakino 1, Stavropol'skaya,

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

~5.3—3.4 Mya. *Kuchurgan gravel site,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

~4.9—4.2 Mya. *Osztramos locality 7,

Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst The Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst is a UNESCO World Heritage site consisting of 712 caves spread out over a total area of along the border of Hungary and Slovakia. Background This UNESCO World Heritage site includes seven component ...

Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén ( hu, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén megye, ; sk, Boršodsko-abovsko-zemplínska) is an administrative county (Counties of Hungary, comitatus or ''megye)'' in north-eastern Hungary (commonly called "Northern Hungary"), on the bord ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

~3.4—1.8 Mya. *Seneze (Domeyrat) site,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

~3.4—1.8 Mya. *Meleto site,

Tuscany, Italy Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

~3.2—2.5 Mya.Paleobiology Database: Meleto collection
/ref>

References

Tracking the origins of the cave bear (''Ursus spelaeus'') by mitochondrial DNA sequencing
Pliocene bears Pliocene extinctions Prehistoric mammals of Europe Fossil taxa described in 1827 {{paleo-carnivora-stub