A basal ursine bear (Protarctos abstrusus) from the Pliocene High Arctic reveals Eurasian affinities and a diet rich in fermentable sugars
The skeletal remains of a small bear (Protarctos abstrusus) were collected at the Beaver Pond fossil site in the High Arctic (Ellesmere I., Nunavut). This mid-Pliocene deposit has also yielded 12 other mammals and the remains of a boreal-forest community. Phylogenetic analysis reveals this bear to b...
Published in: | Scientific Reports |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2017
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://ir.library.carleton.ca/pub/17168 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-17657-8 |
id |
ftcarletonunivir:oai:carleton.ca:17168 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftcarletonunivir:oai:carleton.ca:17168 2023-05-15T14:55:05+02:00 A basal ursine bear (Protarctos abstrusus) from the Pliocene High Arctic reveals Eurasian affinities and a diet rich in fermentable sugars Wang, X. (Xiaoming) Rybczynski, N. (Natalia) Harington, C.R. (C. Richard) White, S.C. (Stuart C.) Tedford, R.H. (Richard H.) 2017-12-01 application/pdf https://ir.library.carleton.ca/pub/17168 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-17657-8 en eng https://ir.library.carleton.ca/pub/17168 doi:10.1038/s41598-017-17657-8 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Scientific Reports vol. 7 no. 1 info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2017 ftcarletonunivir https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-17657-8 2022-02-06T21:51:05Z The skeletal remains of a small bear (Protarctos abstrusus) were collected at the Beaver Pond fossil site in the High Arctic (Ellesmere I., Nunavut). This mid-Pliocene deposit has also yielded 12 other mammals and the remains of a boreal-forest community. Phylogenetic analysis reveals this bear to be basal to modern bears. It appears to represent an immigration event from Asia, leaving no living North American descendants. The dentition shows only modest specialization for herbivory, consistent with its basal position within Ursinae. However, the appearance of dental caries suggest a diet high in fermentable-carbohydrates. Fossil plants remains, including diverse berries, suggests that, like modern northern black bears, P. abstrusus may have exploited a high-sugar diet in the fall to promote fat accumulation and facilitate hibernation. A tendency toward a sugar-rich diet appears to have arisen early in Ursinae, and may have played a role in allowing ursine lineages to occupy cold habitats. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Nunavut Carleton University's Institutional Repository Arctic Nunavut Beaver Pond ENVELOPE(-56.848,-56.848,49.600,49.600) Scientific Reports 7 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Carleton University's Institutional Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftcarletonunivir |
language |
English |
description |
The skeletal remains of a small bear (Protarctos abstrusus) were collected at the Beaver Pond fossil site in the High Arctic (Ellesmere I., Nunavut). This mid-Pliocene deposit has also yielded 12 other mammals and the remains of a boreal-forest community. Phylogenetic analysis reveals this bear to be basal to modern bears. It appears to represent an immigration event from Asia, leaving no living North American descendants. The dentition shows only modest specialization for herbivory, consistent with its basal position within Ursinae. However, the appearance of dental caries suggest a diet high in fermentable-carbohydrates. Fossil plants remains, including diverse berries, suggests that, like modern northern black bears, P. abstrusus may have exploited a high-sugar diet in the fall to promote fat accumulation and facilitate hibernation. A tendency toward a sugar-rich diet appears to have arisen early in Ursinae, and may have played a role in allowing ursine lineages to occupy cold habitats. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wang, X. (Xiaoming) Rybczynski, N. (Natalia) Harington, C.R. (C. Richard) White, S.C. (Stuart C.) Tedford, R.H. (Richard H.) |
spellingShingle |
Wang, X. (Xiaoming) Rybczynski, N. (Natalia) Harington, C.R. (C. Richard) White, S.C. (Stuart C.) Tedford, R.H. (Richard H.) A basal ursine bear (Protarctos abstrusus) from the Pliocene High Arctic reveals Eurasian affinities and a diet rich in fermentable sugars |
author_facet |
Wang, X. (Xiaoming) Rybczynski, N. (Natalia) Harington, C.R. (C. Richard) White, S.C. (Stuart C.) Tedford, R.H. (Richard H.) |
author_sort |
Wang, X. (Xiaoming) |
title |
A basal ursine bear (Protarctos abstrusus) from the Pliocene High Arctic reveals Eurasian affinities and a diet rich in fermentable sugars |
title_short |
A basal ursine bear (Protarctos abstrusus) from the Pliocene High Arctic reveals Eurasian affinities and a diet rich in fermentable sugars |
title_full |
A basal ursine bear (Protarctos abstrusus) from the Pliocene High Arctic reveals Eurasian affinities and a diet rich in fermentable sugars |
title_fullStr |
A basal ursine bear (Protarctos abstrusus) from the Pliocene High Arctic reveals Eurasian affinities and a diet rich in fermentable sugars |
title_full_unstemmed |
A basal ursine bear (Protarctos abstrusus) from the Pliocene High Arctic reveals Eurasian affinities and a diet rich in fermentable sugars |
title_sort |
basal ursine bear (protarctos abstrusus) from the pliocene high arctic reveals eurasian affinities and a diet rich in fermentable sugars |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://ir.library.carleton.ca/pub/17168 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-17657-8 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-56.848,-56.848,49.600,49.600) |
geographic |
Arctic Nunavut Beaver Pond |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Nunavut Beaver Pond |
genre |
Arctic Nunavut |
genre_facet |
Arctic Nunavut |
op_source |
Scientific Reports vol. 7 no. 1 |
op_relation |
https://ir.library.carleton.ca/pub/17168 doi:10.1038/s41598-017-17657-8 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-17657-8 |
container_title |
Scientific Reports |
container_volume |
7 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766326870475800576 |