94 PROF. E. LONNBERG : REMARKS ON 



distinguishing tlie Grizzly Bears from the trne Ursus of the arctos 

 group, viz. '• the pahxte narrow and contracted hehind," is not 

 mentioned for "■ cccvifrons" and it is not known if its palate has 

 this characteristic shape or not. If such should happen to be the 

 case, our Mongoliaii Bear has nothing to do with it, because the 

 latter has a bi'o;vd palate, which is not more contracted behind 

 the molars than is the case with true arctos ; and it therefore 

 certainly belongs to the same gi-oup as the latter. 



Mr. Sowerby also mentions another of Heude's Bears, called by 

 the latter " Ursus mandchuriaos." It is also a lai'ge and dark 

 Bear, although not so black as " ca^'^/'ro7^s," and is said to- have 

 a " fairly straight cranial outline." It is possible that this is 

 identical with Gray's lasiotus, and, if such is the case, the latter 

 ]iame of course has priority. The question about the identitj^ can 

 hardly be decided for the present, but so much ought to be 

 certain, that nothing prevents Gray's name from being laid on 

 the present big and Black Bear from Mongolia, which evidently 

 is a member of the arctos group. 



With regard to the general size, the Mongolian Bear appears to 

 be larger than the European, and the greatest length of the skull 

 of the former (387 mm.) is larger than that of any Swedish Bear 

 skull I have seen. The three largest specimens of the latter 

 kind that I have had the opportunity of measuring, have had 

 maximum lengths of 362, 367, and 372 mm. With regard to 

 the zygomatic width, the Mongolian Bear is not superior to some 

 of the largest Swedish Bears. On one occasion I found the same 

 breadth, viz. 218 mm., in one of the latter, but several times still 

 greater dimensions, e. g. 223, 225, 229, and even 231 mm. The 

 latter is thus similar to Sowerby's specimen in breadth. With 

 regard to the interorbita] width (80 mm. in the Mongolian Bear), 

 I have seen several Swedish Bear skulls as large or still broader, 

 e. g. 80, 83 (twice), 84. and 89 mm. — the last thus fully equal to 

 Sowerby's specimen. Otherwise the Mongolian Bear is greater 

 in most dimensions or near the maximum. The palate is, how- 

 ever, often broader in male Swedish Bears. 



The comparative size of the teeth is to be seen from the 

 following : — 



f* in the Mongolian specimen 16'5 mm. ; in Swedish male Bears 15-16'5 (once 17'5 



and once 18) mm. 



toI „ „ „ 24 mm. „ „ „ 21-23 (once 20) 



mm. 



wi2 „ „ „ 35'3 mm. „ „ „ 32-35 (once resp. 



31, 30, and 29 

 mm,).' 



The difference in this respect is therefore not so very great 

 Unfortunately, Sowerby has not given any measurements of the 

 teeth of " cavifrons" but Heude's figures of the teeth, which are 

 said to represent the actual size, do not indicate tha,t the teeth of 

 his Bear are larger than those of an average Swedish Bear, and 

 m^ appears to be rather narrow. 



