Giant short-faced bear (Arctodus simus yukonensis) remains from Fulton County, northern Indiana / Fieldiana, Geology, new series, no. 30

• Main Authors: Richards, Ronald L., Turnbull, William D. joint author, Neiburger, Ellis J. (Ellis Jay), 1944- contributor
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, Ill. : Field Museum of Natural History 1995
• Subjects: Giant short-faced bear.; Bears; Fossil; Fulton; Yukon; Alaska
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10111/UIUCOCA:giantshortfacedb30rich; http://www.archive.org/details/giantshortfacedb30rich

Major portions of the skeleton of the extinct giant short-faced bear (Arctodus simus yukonensis) were recovered from Fulton County, northern Indiana, in 1967. The bones provided a radiocarbon age of 11,500 +/- 520 years B. P. (apatite fraction). The skeleton was deposited in a shallow lake, perhaps in or near an open or patchy boreal forest dominated by spruce, after the recession of Wisconsinan ice. The bear was large, comparable in size to Rancholabrean specimens from Alaska and the Yukon. It is the only tremarctine recorded from Indiana, is one of two specimens from the Great Lakes region, and is one of the most nearly complete skeletons known. Most of the other known specimens are highly incomplete, so the Indiana specimen provides a firm basis for assessing variation in the subspecies. The skull is relatively short compared to the limb bones, is markedly wide, and has a very narrow interorbital width. Several of the vertebrae and limb bones exhibit pathological conditions. The pathologies were described previously and are further described here and discussed by Neiburger in the Appendix. A full set of measurements is presented. Comparisons are made wtih other A. simus specimens, yielding important data that have not previously been reported. Includes bibliographical references (p. 32-33). Major portions of the skeleton of the extinct giant short-faced bear (Arctodus simus yukonensis) were recovered from Fulton County, northern Indiana, in 1967. The bones provided a radiocarbon age of 11,500 +/- 520 years B. P. (apatite fraction). The skeleton was deposited in a shallow lake, perhaps in or near an open or patchy boreal forest dominated by spruce, after the recession of Wisconsinan ice. The bear was large, comparable in size to Rancholabrean specimens from Alaska and the Yukon. It is the only tremarctine recorded from Indiana, is one of two specimens from the Great Lakes region, and is one of the most nearly complete skeletons known. Most of the other known specimens are highly incomplete, so the Indiana specimen provides a firm basis for assessing variation in the subspecies. The skull is relatively short compared to the limb bones, is markedly wide, and has a very narrow interorbital width. Several of the vertebrae and limb bones exhibit pathological conditions. The pathologies were described previously and are further described here and discussed by Neiburger in the Appendix. A full set of measurements is presented. Comparisons are made wtih other A. simus specimens, yielding important data that have not previously been reported. Fieldiana series has been published as Geological Series by Field Columbian Museum (1895-1909) and Field Museum of Natural History (1909-1943), and as Fieldiana: Geology by Chicago Natural History Museum (1945-1966) and Field Museum of Natural History (1966-1978). Fieldiana Geology New Series No. 1 began June 29, 1979.