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Figure 1

From: A basal ursine bear (Protarctos abstrusus) from the Pliocene High Arctic reveals Eurasian affinities and a diet rich in fermentable sugars

Figure 1

Map of key basal ursine localities in Asia, Europe, and North America and routes of dispersal. The Beaver Pond site is indicated by red star 1 within Arctic Circle and the type locality of Protarctos abstrusus in Idaho is the red star 2, near the edge of the map. For much of the Neogene the Bering isthmus would have served as a land bridge, allowing for an Arctic biotic continuity between Eurasia and North America. By 3.5 Ma the Bering Strait was open, although mammalian dispersal could have been permitted by seasonal sea ice. Pliocene (5 Ma) paleogeography map modified from Wang et al.86 Fig. 1 and Scotese87.

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