Atlas Bear
Conservation status
Extinct  (1870s)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Ursidae Genus: Ursus Species: U. arctos Subspecies: U. a. crowtheri
Trinomial name
Ursus arctos crowtheri Schinz, 1844

The Atlas Bear (Ursus arctos crowtheri) was a subspecies of the Brown Bear, but sometimes considered a distinct species. It was Africa's only native bear. Once inhabiting the Atlas Mountains from Morocco to Libya, the animal is now thought to be extinct. Thousands of these bears were hunted for sport, venatio games, or execution of criminals ad bestias following the expansion of the Roman Empire into North Africa. The last known specimen was probably killed by hunters in the 1870s in the Tetuan Mountains of northern Morocco, although reports still surface. The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Image File history File links Status_none_EX.svg‎ Graphic diagram for the IUCN Red List categories. ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ... // The invention of the telephone (1876) by Alexander Graham Bell. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... Animalia redirects here. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Subclasses Allotheria* Order Multituberculata (extinct) Order Volaticotheria (extinct) Order Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Order Triconodonta (extinct) Prototheria Order Monotremata Theria Infraclass Marsupialia Infraclass Eutheria The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in females for the nourishment of young, from mammary glands present on most species... Families 17, See classification The diverse order Carnivora IPA: (from Latin carō (stem carn-) flesh, + vorāre to devour) includes over 260 placental mammals. ... For other meanings, see Bear (disambiguation). ... Species Ursus arctos Ursus americanus Ursus maritimus Ursus thibetanus,or Selenarctos thibetanus Asiatic black bear might be classified with Kinowagma belonging Selenarctos. ... Binomial name Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758 Ursus arctos range map. ... Trinomial nomenclature is a taxonomic naming system that extends the standard system of binomial nomenclature by adding a third taxon. ... Heinrich Rudolf Schinz (1777 - 1861) was a Swiss physician and naturalist. ... 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... In zoology, as in other branches of biology, subspecies is the rank immediately subordinate to a species. ... Binomial name Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758 Ursus arctos range map. ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa. ... Genera Ailuropoda Helarctos Melursus Ursus Tremarctos Arctodus (extinct) A bear is a small mammal in the family Ursidae of the order Carnivora. ... Map showing the location of the Atlas Mountains (colored red) across North Africa The Atlas Mountains (Arabic: ‎) are a mountain range in northwest Africa extending about 2,400 km (1,500 miles) through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, and including The Rock of Gibraltar. ... Another form of entertainment in Roman amphitheaters involved the hunting and slaying of wild animals, call the venatio, or hunt. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent. ... // The invention of the telephone (1876) by Alexander Graham Bell. ...

Sometimes, it is suggested that this animal might still be alive in eastern Africa, and is the source of the cryptid known as the nandi bear. This is essentially ruled out by biogeography, however. Nonetheless, as the known distribution of the Atlas Bear is a relict of the desertification of the Sahara, its ancestor may have been widespread in northern and eastern Africa in prehistoric times. Cryptids are creatures presumed extinct or hypothetical species of creature known from anecdotal evidence and/or other evidence insufficient to prove their existence with scientific certainty. ... The so-called Nandi Bear is an scientifically unrecognized animal said to live in Africa. ... Biogeography is the science which deals with patterns of species distribution and the processes that result in such patterns. ... The term relict is used to refer to surviving remnants of natural phenomena. ... Ship stranded by the retreat of the Aral Sea Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors including climatic variations, but primarily human activities. ...

References

• Endangered Species Handbook