Ursus minimus (the Auvergne bear) is an extinct species of bear, endemic to Europe during the Pliocene and Pleistocene, living from 5.3 to 1.8 Mya, existing for about .
U. minimus appears to have given rise to Ursus etruscus. The range of U. minimus was continental Europe, as far east as the Black Sea in Russia and as far south as Italy.
The skeleton of U. minimus was very similar to that of the larger Asian black bear. With the exception of the age of the bones, it is often difficult to distinguish the remains of U. minimus from those of modern Asian black bears.Search for the Golden Moon Bear: Science and Adventure in Pursuit of a New Species by Sy Montgomery published by Chelsea Green Publishing, 2009
Distribution Fossils of U. minimus are known from France, Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine, Italy, Bulgaria, Georgia, and Russia.
Fossil sites Sites and specimen ages: Kossiakino 1, Stavropol'skaya, Russian Federation ~5.3—3.4 Mya. Kuchurgan gravel site, Ukraine ~4.9—4.2 Mya. Osztramos locality 7, Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, Hungary ~3.4—1.8 Mya. Seneze (Domeyrat) site, France ~3.4—1.8 Mya. Meleto site, Tuscany, Italy ~3.2—2.5 Mya.Paleobiology Database: Meleto collection
References
Tracking the origins of the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) by mitochondrial DNA sequencing