Bear Evolution

[brotherbear]

The Cave Bear Story... The recounting of the long evolutionary history of the cave bear line may seem tedious, but it should give some understanding of how complete the evidence of its evolution really is. From the early Ursus minimus of 5 million years ago to the late Pleistocene cave bear, which became extinct only a few thousand years ago, there is a perfectly complete evolutionary sequence without any real gaps. The transition is slow and gradual throughout, and it is quite difficult to say where one species ends and the next begins. Where should we draw the boundary between Ursus minimus and Ursus etruscus, or between Ursus savini and Ursus spelaeus? The history of the cave bear becomes a demonstration of evolution, not a hypothesis or theory but as a simple fact of record.  Reply