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. American black bear head, Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardenĭespite 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).
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