78 Merrlam — Prellminav]/ Synoiysls of American Bears. 



slightly upturned, givin<? the animal a 'pug-nosed' appearance (pi. V, 

 fig. 5). Contrasted with the Grizzlies, the skull as a whole is much 

 shorter and relatively broader, the ratio of zygomatic breadth to basilar 

 length being very much greater. The shortening is chiefly in the brain 

 case, bringing the broad posterior part of the zygomatic; arches much 

 nearer the hinder end of the skull. The skull of the young animal is flat 

 on top ; that of the adult rises abruptly at the orbits and is convex over 

 the brain case. The angular process of the mandible curves strongly up- 

 ward at the tip, so that the notch is nearly a complete circle ; it is more 

 open in the other bears. 



The dentition is distinctly of the Grizzly type. The molars are as large 

 as in the Grizzly. The fourth upper premolar is large and high and has 

 a strong single internal cusp, without accessory cusps in the sjiecimens 

 examined. The fourth lower premolar lacks the antero-internal cusplet 

 of the Grizzlies, and the main cusp slopes back to the posterior margin, 

 where it is rounded ofl" without developing a posterior cusplet. The last 

 upper molar has the inner tubercles flatter than in the Grizzly. 



Remarks. — The Barren Ground bear is an excellent species, 

 differing widely from its nearest relative and neighbor, the 

 Grizzly of Alaska, which latter animal is represented in the col- 

 lection by a number of skulls from the Norton Sound region. 

 All the skulls of the Barren Ground ])ear I have examined are 

 from the region north of Great Bear Lake, and were collected by 

 R. McFarlane. They are labeled as coming from Anderson 

 River, Franklin Bay, and 'Arctic coast.' Whether the species 

 ranges west of the Mackenzie River 1 have been unable to 

 ascertain. 



The Black Bears. Sul)genus Eaarctos Gray. 



The subgeims Euarctos, proposed by Gray in 1864 ^ for the common 

 Black bear of North America ( Ursus americanns Pallas), is well worthy 

 of recognition. It was characterized as follows: "Fur short, uniform. 

 Front claws mocierate, not much longer than the hind ones. Hind feet 

 Short. Upper tubercular moderately long, narrowed behind." 



In addition to the peculiarities pointed out by Gray, it differs con- 

 stantly in several excellent dental characters from the large Brown and 

 Grizzly bears of America, and also from Ur-fus arc.tos Linnteus, of Scandi- 

 navia, which is the type of the genus Ursus. The most important char- 

 acter, and one which alone is sufficient to warrant the establishment of 

 the subgenus, is the form of the lower carnassial tooth (m i). This tooth 

 has a broad, open, flat space or step on the inner side between the middle 

 and posterior cusps (metaconid and entoconid), which is never present in 

 the Brown and Grizzly l)ears (fig. 6). In the restricted genus Ursus the 

 metaconid and entoconid are joined together, and the notch between is 



*Proc. Zo51. Soc. Lend., 692, 1864. 



