Arctodus simus
Taxon
Arctodus simus Leidy, 1854
Reconstructed length
~2.3 m (8 feet)
View
Left lateral
Drawing
© Scott Hartman
Drawn
2010, revised 2026
Clade
- Synapsida
- Therapsida
- Mammalia
- Placentalia
- Laurasiatheria
- Carnivora
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Arctodus was a short-faced bear that ranged across almost all of North America, from about 2.5 million years ago through several ice ages, until humans helped usher it to extinction around 12,000 years ago. At one time short-faced bears were considered to be more arch predators than typical black or brown bears today, and nitrogen isotopes do support meat making up a significant portion of their diet, but many paleontologists today view them as omnivorous in diet, potentially getting at least some of their meat by chasing off smaller hunters from kills.