The American black bear lived during the same period as the giant and lesser short-faced bears ( Arctodus simus and A. From the Holocene to the present, American black bears seem to have shrunk in size, but this has been disputed because of problems with dating these fossil specimens.

The earliest American black bear fossils, which were located in Port Kennedy, Pennsylvania, greatly resemble the Asian species, though later specimens grew to sizes comparable to grizzly bears. The American black bear then split from the Asian black bear 4.08 mya. The ancestors of American black bears and Asian black bears diverged from sun bears 4.58 mya. vitabilis an 'apparent precursor to modern black bears', it has also been placed within U. Although Wolverton and Lyman still consider U. abstrusus may be the direct ancestor of the American black bear, which evolved in North America. Ī small primitive bear called Ursus abstrusus is the oldest known North American fossil member of the genus Ursus, dated to 4.95 mya. According to recent studies, the sun bear is also a relatively recent split from this lineage. American and Asian black bears are considered sister taxa and are more closely related to each other than to the other modern species of bears. Along with the brown bear ( Ursus arctos), it is one of only two modern bear species not considered by the IUCN to be globally threatened with extinction.ĭespite living in North America, American black bears are not closely related to brown bears and polar bears genetic studies reveal that they split from a common ancestor 5.05 million years ago (mya).

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the American black bear as a least-concern species, due to its widespread distribution and a large population estimated to be twice that of all other bear species combined. It typically lives in largely forested areas, but will leave forests in search of food, and is sometimes attracted to human communities due to the immediate availability of food. The American black bear is an omnivore, with a diet varying greatly depending on season and location. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. The American black bear ( Ursus americanus), also known as the black bear, is a species of medium-sized bear endemic to North America.

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