Arctotherium

Uncommon card · No. 121404

Arctotherium ("bear beast") is an extinct genus of short-faced bears endemic to Central and South America (Neotropics) from the Late Pliocene to the end of the Late Pleistocene. Arctotherium migrated from North America to South America during the Great American Interchange, following the formation of the Isthmus of Panama during the late Pliocene. The earliest recovered remains of Arctotherium are from Central America and northern South America, with specimens referred to Arctotherium c.f. wingei and Arctotherium sp. from the Plio-Pleistocene boundary of Venezuela, and Arctotherium sp. from the Early Pleistocene of El Salvador, dated to between 3Ma and 1.8Ma. Arctotherium reappears later as Arctotherium angustidens ca. 1Ma, which subsequently remains as the only confirmed species for the rest of the Early Pleistocene and early Middle Pleistocene. Around 400,000 years ago, Arctotherium angustidens is replaced in the fossil record by all other species of Arctotherium. Correspondingly, Arctotherium...

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