The so-called “dawn bear the voracious eater” helps to establish North America as an important venue for the evolution of early bears, a process scientists have largely relegated to Europe. Do you think it's cute?
Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsA raccoon-sized bear that lived a short and painful life some 32 million years ago has suddenly risen to prominence thanks to a new paper that has declared it a new species,. The so-called “dawn bear the voracious eater” helps to establish North America as an important venue for the evolution of early bears, a process scientists have largely relegated to Europe.
Paleontologists first unearthed the skeleton in 1982 from the Fitterer Ranch site in southwestern North Dakota, but proper classification of it has waited until the release of the new paper. It describes a nearly complete skeleton in “exquisite” condition, save for some interesting damage to the jaw.that classifies the skeleton was a collaboration between the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the North Dakota Geological Survey.
The dawn bear was remarkably small and weighed only about 9.5 pounds at most, similar to a house cat. It survived on its ability to dart from ground to tree, where it climbed with ample claws to escape danger. On the ground, its flat feet allowed it to range widely to forage, covering tens of kilometers in a single day. Along the way, the bear found in 1982 discovered some type of hard food that it had to crush with its teeth.
Infection is probably what killed the bear, it says, given the lack of bite marks on the skeleton or other damage. The researchers estimated from the skull left behind that the bear had a relatively small brain but a massivesticking out the front of it, which would have processed smells. The relative size of the bulb is perhaps greater than in any other carnivore, the paper says, but this may just be due to the smallness of the bear’s cerebrum .
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