Underwater archaeologists have discovered the skulls of four Arctotherium, a genus of short-faced bear that went extinct 11,300 years ago. The dscovery was made at a depth of 42 metres in a submerged cave on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula.

Measuring between 25-30 cm long, the skulls belong to two adult bears - one of each sex - and two immature individuals.. Guillermo de Anda Alanis and his team from the Yucatan Autonomous University discovered them whilst diving in a cavern at a depth of 42 metres..

Skeletal remains of five humans were also found nearby. Dating of the human skeletons will establish if the two finds are related.

The skulls will force a rethink of bear biogeography in the Americas as Arctotherium was previously known to only reside in South America. The only living representative of the short-faced bear alive today is the spectacled bear found in western Venezuela,, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, western Bolivia, and northwestern Argentina.

◄ Previous | Image of | Next ►

-