Giant short-faced bear (Arctodus simus) from late Wisconsinan deposits at Cowichan Head, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

2010/08/01 by Martina L. Steffen, C. R. Harington · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Environmental Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies

paper · doi:10.1139/e10-018

openalex publication_date 2010/08/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11

Abstract

A giant short-faced bear ( Arctodus simus ) ulna fragment was found at the base of exposed Quaternary sediments at Cowichan Head, southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. In this paper, the ulna fragment and its geological context are described and a reasonable taphonomic trajectory is presented. The radiocarbon age of 22 750 ± 140 BP on the bone indicates that these bears were on Vancouver Island during the late Wisconsinan. A likely source for the Cowichan Head A. simus was from the mainland to the southeast.

Citations

• Improved Collagen Extraction by Modified Longin Method
• Diet and Co-ecology of Pleistocene Short-Faced Bears and Brown Bears in Eastern Beringia
• Arctodus simus from the Alaskan Arctic Slope
• Late Quaternary chronology and extinction of North American giant short-faced bears (Arctodus simus)
• Pleistocene mammals of the Edmonton area, Alberta. Part I. The carnivores
• Giant short-faced bears (Arctodus simus) in Pleistocene Florida USA, a substantial range extension
• A Giant Short-Faced Bear (Arctodus simus) from the Pleistocene of Northern Utah
• Distribution and size variation in North American Short-faced bears, Arctodus simus
• A Short-Faced Bear From Ice Age Deposits at Lebret, Saskatchewan
• Discussion Reporting of 14C Data

Cited by

• Arctodus [wikipedia]