Ursinae is a subfamily of
Ursidae (bears) named by Swainson (1835). It was assigned to
Ursidae by Bjork (1970), Hunt (1998), and Jin et al. (2007).
Classification
The genera ''
Melursus'' and ''
Helarctos'' are sometimes also included in ''Ursus''. The Asiatic black bear and the polar bear used to be placed in their own genera, ''Selenarctos'' and ''Thalarctos''; these are now placed at
subgenus
In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...
rank.
* Subfamily Ursinae
Fischer de Waldheim, 1817
** †''
Aurorarctos''
Jiangzuo & Flynn, 2020
*** †''Aurorarctos tirawa''
Jiangzuo & Flynn, 2020
** ''
Helarctos''
Horsfield, 1825
*** ''Helarctos malayanus''
( Raffles, 1821) –
sun bear
The sun bear (''Helarctos malayanus'') is a bear species in the Family (biology), family Ursidae found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. It is the only species in the genus ''Helarctos'' and the smallest bear species, standing nearly ...
*** †''
Helarctos sinomalayanus''
(Thenius, 1947)
** ''
Melursus''
Meyer, 1793
***''Melursus ursinus''
( Shaw, 1791) –
sloth bear
*** †''
Melursus theobaldi''
( Lydekker, 1884)
** †''
Protarctos''
Kretzoi, 1945
*** †''Protarctos abstrusus''
(Bjork, 1970)
*** †''Protarctos boeckhi''
( Schlosser, 1899)
*** †''Protarctos ruscinensis''
(Depéret, 1890)
*** †''Protarctos yinanensis''
(Li, 1993)
** ''
Ursus''
Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
, 1758
*** ''Ursus americanus''
( Pallas, 1780) –
American black bear
The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), or simply black bear, is a species of medium-sized bear which is Endemism, endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. It is an omnivore, with ...
*** ''Ursus arctos''
Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
, 1758 –
brown bear
*** †''
Ursus deningeri''
Richenau, 1904
*** †''
Ursus dolinensis''
(Garcia & Arsuaga, 2001)
*** †''
Ursus etruscus''
Cuvier, 1823
*** †''
Ursus ingressus''
Rabeder, Hofreiter, Nagel & Withalm 2004
*** †''
Ursus kudarensis''
Baryshnikov, 1985
*** ''Ursus maritimus''
Phipps, 1774 –
polar bear
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...
*** †''
Ursus minimus''
(Devèze & Bouillet, 1827)
*** †''
Ursus pyrenaicus''
(Depéret, 1892)
*** †''
Ursus rossicus''
Borissiak, 1930
*** †''
Ursus sackdillingensis''
Heller, 1955
*** †''
Ursus savini''
(Andrews, 1922)
*** †''
Ursus spelaeus''
Rosenmüller, 1794 – cave bear
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 '' ...
*** ''Ursus thibetanus''
( Cuvier, 1823) –
Asiatic black bear
*** †''
Ursus vitabilis''?
Gidley, 1913
A number of hybrids have been bred between American black, brown, and polar bears (see
Ursid hybrids).
References
Bears
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