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New insights on the cave bear population from the urşilor cave, Romania

Abstract:

The first two palaeontological excavation campaigns held in 2010 at the Urşilor Cave, Bihor Mountains, Romania brought new information concerning the cave occupation by Ursus spelaeus during the Upper Pleistocene. The excavation is located in the Lower Passageway (Scientific Reserve) and extends over 7 m 2 with the lowest point reached during the campaigns at ∼ 125 cm below surface. The overwhelming majority of the fossil material extracted belongs to the cave bear of all age categories. The skeletal elements found in anatomical connection, the analysis of the long bones orientation, and their relatively good preservation indicate that the bones were deposited under a low-energy hydraulic regime and subsequently covered by lacustrine sediments during at least three flooding episodes. The morphodynamic analysis of the fourth cave bear premolars from the uppermost three layers indicates an MIS 3 age. The P4 index however comes in disagreement with the K-index value for the 4 th metatarsal which indicates a low evolutionary level for the cave bear population from Urşilor cave.