Arctotherium

Arctotherium; Temporal range: Late Pliocene-Early Holocene (Uquian-Lujanian) ~
	Life restoration of A. bonariense
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Ursidae
Subfamily:	Tremarctinae
Genus:	†Arctotherium; Bravard 1857
Type species
	†Arctotherium bonariense; Gervais 1852
Species
	A. angustidens Gervais & Ameghino 1880; A. bonariense Gervais 1852 (type); A. tarijense Ameghino 1902; A. vetustum Ameghino 1885; A. wingei Ameghino 1902;
Synonyms
	Genus synonymy Pararctotherium Ameghino 1904 ; Species synonymy A. angustidens: Arctotherium latidens Bravard 1857 ; ; A. bonariense: Arctodus bonariensis Perea and Ubilla 2001 ; Arctotherium bonaerense ? ; Pararctotherium enectum Ameghino 1904 ; Ursus bonariensis Gervais 1852 ; ; A. tarijense: Pararctotherium pamparum Ameghino 1904 ; ; A. wingei: Arctotherium brasiliensis Lund 1804 ; Arctotherium brasiliense Lund 1838 ; ?Panthera balamoides? Stinnesbeck 2019 ; ;

Arctotherium ("bear beast") is an extinct genus of the Pleistocene short-faced bears endemic to Central and South America. Arctotherium migrated from North America to South America during the Great American Interchange, following the formation of the Isthmus of Panama during the late Pliocene. The genus consists of one early giant form, A. angustidens, and several succeeding smaller species, which were within the size range of modern bears. Arctotherium was adapted to open and mixed habitat. They are genetically closer to the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), than to Arctodus of North America, implying the two extinct forms evolved large size in a convergent manner.

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