Ursus maritimus tyrannus

Ursus maritimus tyrannus

Tyrant polar bear

SUBSPECIES OF

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SPECIES
Ursus maritimus tyrannus

Ursus maritimus tyrannus (meaning tyrant polar bear) is an extinct subspecies of polar bear, known from a single fragmentary ulna found in the gravels of the Thames at Kew Bridge, London. It was named by the Finnish paleontologist Björn Kurtén in 1964 and is interpreted to represent a relatively large subadult individual: the ulna is estimated to have been 48.5 cm (19 in) long when complete, for comparison, modern subadult polar bear ulnae are 36–43 cm (14–17 in) long.

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An unpublished reinvestigation of the fossil suggests that the fossil is actually a brown bear.

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References

1. Ursus maritimus tyrannus Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursus_maritimus_tyrannus

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