Approximate Dates of Origin of Bear Species
from Bears of the World by Lance Craighead, Ph.D.
| SPECIES | DATE OF ORIGIN FROM FOSSIL EVIDENCE |
DATE OF ORIGIN FROM GENETIC EVIDENCE |
AREA OF ORIGIN |
|
Panda Bear
Superfamily
Ailuropodinae
|
> 15 MYA*
Agriarctos
|
18-22 MYA* | Central Asia |
|
Short-faced Bear
Superfamily
Tremarctinae
|
> 6 MYA*
Plionarctos
|
12-15 MYA* | North America |
|
Giant Short-faced Bear
Artodus simus
|
North America | ||
|
Spectacled Bear
Tremarctos ornatus
|
South America | ||
|
True Bear
Family Ursidae
|
> 5 MYA*
Ursus minimus |
4-8 MYA* | Northeastern Asia |
|
Sloth Bear
Ursus ursinus
|
7 MYA* |
South-central Asia
(India?)
|
|
|
Sun Bear
Ursus malayanus
|
5 MYA* |
South-east Asia
(Islands?)
|
|
|
Asiatic Black Bear
Ursus thibetanus
|
5 MYA* |
Central Asia
(Himalayas?)
|
|
|
American Black Bear
Ursus americanus
|
> 3.5 MYA* | 5 MYA* |
North America
|
|
Giant Panda
Ailuropoda melanoleuca
|
> 600,000 years ago |
Central Asia
(China?)
|
|
|
Brown Bear
Ursus arctos
|
> 500,000 years ago
(China)
> 900,000 years ago
(France) |
1 MYA* | Northern Asia |
|
Polar Bear
Ursus maritimus
|
c 300,000 years ago | 1 MYA* | Northern Siberia |
|
Cave Bear
Ursus spelaus
|
> 300,000 years ago
(Europe) |
Europe |
* million years ago
 |
 |
 |