Subspecies of brown bear#Dall Island brown bear
{{Short description|Brown Bears Subspecies}}
Formerly or currently considered subspecies or populations of brown bears (ursus arctos) have been listed as follows:{{MSW3 Wozencraft |id=14000970 |pages=588–589 |heading=Ursus arctos}}[https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180543 Ursus arctos], ITIS
List
=Eurasia and North Africa=
=North America=
Ecotypes or regional populations
Brown bear size, most often measured in body mass, is highly variable and is correlated to extent of food access. Therefore, bears whose range in areas with access to openings, cover, and moisture or water are on average larger, whereas those bears that range into enclosed forested areas or arid, sparsely vegetated regions, both of which tend to be suboptimal foraging habitat for brown bears, average smaller.{{cite web |url=http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-439-01-0001.pdf |date=23 April 1993 |title=Mammalian Species- Ursus arctos |publisher=American Society of Mammalogists, Smith College |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331110208/http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-439-01-0001.pdf |archive-date=2017-03-31}}{{cite book|last1=Feldhamer |first1=G. A. |last2=Thompson |first2=B. C. |last3=Chapman |first3=J. A. |year=2003 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-xQalfqP7BcC&pg=PP1 |title=Wild mammals of North America: biology, management, and conservation |publisher=JHU Press|isbn=9780801874161 }}{{cite journal |last1=Hilderbrand |first1=G. V. |last2=Schwartz |first2=C. C. |last3=Robbins |first3=C. T. |last4=Jacoby |first4=M. E. |last5=Hanley |first5=T. A. |last6=Arthur |first6=S. M. |last7=Servheen |first7=C. |title=The importance of meat, particularly salmon, to body size, population productivity, and conservation of North American brown bears |journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology |volume=77 |page=132 |url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ef9b/3a38a78d79d2a98809506f7b0abcdadf16c4.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221060832/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ef9b/3a38a78d79d2a98809506f7b0abcdadf16c4.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2016-12-21 |doi=10.1139/z98-195 |year=1999|s2cid=18290659 }} The brown bear in northern Europe (i.e., Scandinavia, eastern Europe, western Russia), Yellowstone National Park or interior Alaska seasonally weigh on average between {{convert|115|and|360|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, from mean low adult female weights in spring to male bear mean high weights in fall. Brown bears from the Yukon Delta, interior British Columbia, Jasper National Park and southern Europe (i.e., Spain, the Balkans) can weigh from {{convert|55|to|175|kg|lb|abbr=on}} on average.{{cite journal|doi=10.1007/s00442-007-0715-1|pmid=17415593|title=Brown bear body mass and growth in northern and southern Europe|journal=Oecologia|volume=153|issue=#1|pages=37–47|year=2007|last1=Swenson|first1=Jon E.|last2=Adamič|first2=Miha|last3=Huber|first3=Djuro|last4=Stokke|first4=Sigbjørn|url=http://bearproject.info/old/uploads/publications/2007%20Swenson%20et%20al%20Oecologia.pdf|bibcode=2007Oecol.153...37S|s2cid=5836340|access-date=2019-11-19|archive-date=2022-10-09|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://bearproject.info/old/uploads/publications/2007%20Swenson%20et%20al%20Oecologia.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Brown Grizzly or Brown Bear (Ursus arctos)|url=http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/ursuarct.htm|publisher=Mammals of Texas- Online Edition }}{{cite journal |last1=Kaczensky |first1=P. |last2=Blazic |first2=M. |last3=Gossow |first3=H. |title=Public attitudes towards brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Slovenia |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=118 |issue=5 |page=661 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2003.10.015 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223401483 |year=2004|bibcode=2004BCons.118..661K }}{{cite journal |last1=Kanellopoulos |first1=N. |last2=Mertzanis |first2=G. |last3=Korakis |first3=G. |last4=Panagiotopoulou |first4=M. |year=2006 |title=Selective habitat use by brown bear (Ursus arctos L.) in northern Pindos, Greece |url=http://www.callisto.gr/docs/JBR_Kanellopoulos_Mertzanis_reprint.pdf |journal=Journal of Biological Research |volume=5 |pages=23–33 |access-date=12 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304214945/http://www.callisto.gr/docs/JBR_Kanellopoulos_Mertzanis_reprint.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}} These mass variations represent only two widespread subspecies, the grizzly bear in North America and the Eurasian brown bear in Europe. Due to the lack of genetic variation within subspecies, the environmental conditions in a given area likely plays the largest part in such weight variations.
The grizzly is especially variable in size, as grizzlies from the largest populations, i.e., interior Alaska, with the heaviest weights recorded in Nelchina, Alaska, nearly three times heavier in males than the smallest grizzlies from Alberta, Canada's Jasper National Park. Between the sexes, the grizzlies of Nelchina average around {{convert|207|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, whereas the Jasper grizzlies averaged about {{convert|74|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. The enclosed taiga habitat of Jasper presumably is sub-optimal foraging habitat for grizzlies, requiring them to range widely and feed sparsely, thus reducing body weights and putting bears at risk of starvation, while in surfaces areas in the tundra and prairie are apparently ideal for feeding.{{cite journal |last1=Jacoby |first1=M. E. |last2=Hilderbrand |first2=G. V. |last3=Servheen |first3=C. |last4=Schwartz |first4=C. C. |last5=Arthur |first5=S. M. |last6=Hanley |first6=T. A. |last7=Robbins |first7=C. T. |last8=Michener |first8=R. |title=Trophic relations of brown and black bears in several western North American ecosystems |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=63 |issue=#3 |pages=921–929 |doi=10.2307/3802806 |jstor=3802806 |year=1999}} Even elsewhere in Alberta, weights averaging more than twice those of Jasper grizzlies have been recorded.Mundy, K. R. D., & Flook, D. R. (1973). [http://parkscanadahistory.com/wildlife/report-22.pdf Background for managing grizzly bears in the national parks of Canada]. Information Canada. p. 34 A gradual diminishment in body size is noted in grizzly bears from the sub-Arctic zone, from the Brooks Range to the Mackenzie Mountains, presumably because food becomes much sparser in such regions, although perhaps the most northerly recorded grizzly bears ever, in the Northwest Territories, was a large and healthy male weighing {{convert|320|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, more than twice as much as an average male weighs near the Arctic Circle.{{cite journal|author=Doupé, J. P., England, J. H., Furze, M., & Paetkau, D.|year=2007|title=Most northerly observation of a grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) in Canada: photographic and DNA evidence from Melville Island, Northwest Territories|journal=Arctic|pages=271–276|jstor=40512895|doi=10.14430/arctic219|url=http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/arctic60-3-271.pdf|volume=60|issue=#3|access-date=2019-11-19|archive-date=2015-09-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150917082847/http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic60-3-271.pdf|url-status=dead}} Data from Eurasia similarly indicates a diminished body mass in sub-Arctic brown bears, based on the weights of bears from northern Finland and Yakutia.{{cite journal|author=Pulliainen, E. |year=1972|title=Distribution and population structure of the bear (Ursus arctos L.) in Finland|journal=Annales Zoologici Fennici |pages=199–207|jstor=23731680|volume=9|issue=#4}}{{cite journal|author=Kojola, I., & Laitala, H. M. |year=2001|title=Body size variation of brown bear in Finland|journal=Annales Zoologici Fennici |pages=173–178|jstor=23735763|volume=38|issue=#2}}
Head-and-body length in grizzly bears averages from {{convert|1.8|to|2.13|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} while in Eurasian brown bears it similarly averages from {{convert|1.7|to|2.1|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}}.Whitaker, J. O., & Elman, R. (1996). National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mammals (p. 992). New York: Knopf.Mallinson, J. (1978). The Shadow of Extinction: Europe's Threatened Mammals. Macmillan, London. Adult shoulder height averaged {{convert|95.2|cm|ftin|0|abbr=on}} in Yellowstone (for any bear measured five or more years old) and a median of {{convert|98.5|cm|ftin|0|abbr=on}} (for adults only 10 or more years old) in Slovakia.Rigg, R., & Adamec, M. (2007). [http://www.selmy.cz/data/publications/26.pdf "Status, ecology and management of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Slovakia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807233201/https://www.selmy.cz/data/publications/26.pdf |date=2019-08-07 }}. Slovak Wildlife Society, Liptovský Hrádok.{{cite journal|author=Blanchard, B. M.|url=http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_7/Blanchard_Vol_7.pdf|year=1987|title=Size and growth patterns of the Yellowstone grizzly bear|journal=Bears: Their Biology and Management|volume=7|pages=99–107|doi=10.2307/3872615|jstor=3872615|access-date=2019-11-19|archive-date=2016-10-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021010320/http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_7/Blanchard_Vol_7.pdf|url-status=dead}} Standing on its hindlegs, a posture only assumed occasionally, typically sized brown bears can reportedly range from {{convert|1.83|to|2.75|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} in standing height.{{cite journal|author=Tough, S. C., & Butt, J. C. |title=A review of fatal bear maulings in Alberta, Canada|journal=The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology|volume=14|issue=#1|pages=22–7|pmid=8493963|year=1993|doi=10.1097/00000433-199303000-00005|s2cid=20439076}} Exceptionally large inland specimens have been reported in several parts of North America, Europe, Russia and even Hokkaido. The largest recorded grizzlies from Yellowstone and Washington both weighed approximately {{convert|500|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and Eastern European bears have been weighed in Slovakia and Bulgaria of up to {{convert|400|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, about double the average weight for male bears in these regions.{{cite journal |last1=Zedrosser |first1=A. |last2=Dahle |first2=B. |last3=Swenson |first3=J. E. |last4=Gerstl |first4=N. |year=2001 |title=Status and management of the brown bear in Europe |url=http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_12/Zedrossser_Dahle_Vol_12.pdf |journal=Ursus |pages=9–20 |volume=12 |access-date=2019-11-19 |archive-date=2022-10-09 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_12/Zedrossser_Dahle_Vol_12.pdf |url-status=dead }}{{cite book | author = Wood, Gerald | title = The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats | year = 1983 | publisher = Guinness Superlatives | isbn = 978-0-85112-235-9 | url = https://archive.org/details/guinnessbookofan00wood }} Among the grizzly and Eurasian brown bear subspecies, the largest reportedly shot from each being {{convert|680|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and {{convert|481|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, respectively. The latter bear, from Western Russia, reportedly measured just under {{convert|2.5|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} in head-and-body length.
File:昭和新山熊牧場5.jpg of Hokkaido, a relatively small-bodied population, in the snow]]
In Eurasia, the size of bears roughly increases from the west to the east, with the largest bears there native to Eastern Russia.Vereschagin, N. K. (1976). "The brown bear in Eurasia, particularly the Soviet Union", in Bears: Their Biology and Management, pp. 327–335. Even in the nominate subspecies, size increases in the eastern limits, with mature male bears in Arkhangelsk Oblast and Bashkortostan commonly exceeding {{convert|300|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.Loskutov, A. V., Pavlov, M. P., & Puchkovsky, S. V. (1993). "Brown bear. Volzhsko-Kamsky region", pp. 91–135 in Vaisfeld and Chestin.Vaisfeld, M. A. (1993). "The north-east of European Russia", pp. 37–51 in Vaisfeld and Chestin. Other bears of intermediate size may occur in inland populations of Russia. Much like the grizzly bear and Eurasian brown bear, populations of the Ussuri brown bear (U. a. lasiotus) and the East Siberian brown bear (U. a. collaris) may vary widely in size. In some cases, the big adult males of these populations may have matched the Kodiak bear in size. East Siberian brown bears from outside the sub-Arctic and mainland Ussuri brown bears average about the same size as the largest-bodied populations of grizzly bears, i.e., those of similar latitude in Alaska, and have been credited with weights ranging from {{convert|100|to|400|kg|lb|abbr=on}} throughout the seasons.Stroganov, S. U. (1969). Carnivorous mammals of Siberia. Jerusalem, Israel: Israel Program for Scientific Translations. p. 522. {{ISBN|0706506456}} On the other hand, the Ussuri brown bears found in the insular population of Hokkaido are usually quite small, usually weighing less than {{convert|150|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, exactly half the weight reported for male Ussuri brown bears from Khabarovsk Krai. This is due presumably to the enclosed mixed forest habitat of Hokkaido.{{cite journal|author1=Mano, T. |author2=Tsubota, T. |year=2002|title=Reproductive characteristics of brown bears on the Oshima peninsula, Hokkaido, Japan|jstor=1383508|doi=10.1644/1545-1542(2002)083<1026:RCOBBO>2.0.CO;2|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume= 83|issue=#4|pages=1026–1034|doi-access=free}}Yudin, V.G. (1993). "The Brown Bear" in Vaisfeld and Chestin A similarly diminished size has been reported in East Siberian brown bears from Yakutia, as even adult males average around {{convert|145|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, thus about 40% less than the average weight of male bears of this subtype from central Siberia and the Chukchi Peninsula.
In linear measurements and mean body mass, several subspecies may vie for the title of smallest subtype, although thus far, their reported body masses broadly overlaps with those of the smaller-bodied populations of Eurasian brown bears and grizzly bears. Leopold (1959) described the now-extinct Mexican grizzly bear (U. a. nelsoni) that, according to Rausch (1963), as the smallest subtype of grizzly bear in North America, although the exact parameters of its body size are not known today.{{cite book |last1=Storer |first1=T.I. |last2=Tevis |first2=L.P. |title=California Grizzly |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1QVZFQu01KcC&pg=PA149 |url-access=registration |year=1996 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley, CA |isbn=978-0-520-20520-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/californiagrizzl00stor/page/335 335], 42–187}} [https://archive.org/details/californiagrizzl00stor Alt URL] Bears of the Syrian subspecies (U. a. syriacus) will reportedly weigh around {{convert|100|to|160|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in adulthood.Hamdinea, W., Thévenotb, M., & Michauxc, J. (1998). Recent history of the brown bear in the Maghreb. The Himalayan brown bear (U. a. isabellinus) is another rival for the smallest subspecies; in Pakistan, this subtype averages about {{convert|70|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in females and {{convert|135|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in males.{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2008.06.012|title=Pragmatic management increases a flagship species, the Himalayan brown bears, in Pakistan's Deosai National Park|journal=Biological Conservation|volume=141|issue=#9|page=2230|year=2008|last1=Nawaz|first1=Muhammad Ali|last2=Swenson|first2=Jon E.|last3=Zakaria|first3=Vaqar|bibcode=2008BCons.141.2230N }} Himalayan brown bear females were cited with an average head-and-body length of merely {{convert|1.4|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}}.Prater, S. H., & Barruel, P. (1971). The book of Indian animals (Vol. 3). Bombay: Bombay Natural History Society. Brown bears of the compact Gobi Desert population, which is not usually listed as a distinct subspecies in recent decades, weigh around {{convert|90|to|138|kg|lb|abbr=on}} between the sexes, so they are similar in weight to bears from the Himalayas and even heavier than grizzlies from Jasper National Park. However, the Gobi bear has been reported to measure as small as {{convert|1|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} in head-and-body length, which, if accurate, would make them the smallest known brown bear in linear dimensions. These smallest brown bear subtypes are characteristically found in "barren-ground" type habitats, i.e., sub-desert in bears of the Syrian subspecies and the Gobi subtype and arid alpine meadow in Himalayan brown bears.
File:Brown Bear us fish.jpgs{{cite book |author=Illiger, J. K. W. |title=Prodromus Systematis Mammalium et Avium |year=1811 |publisher=Sumptibus C. Salfeld |pages=138–39 |url=https://archive.org/stream/caroliilligerida00illi#page/138/mode/2up |language=la}} and polar bears{{cite journal |author=Christiansen, P. |year=1999 |title=What size were Arctodus simus and Ursus spelaeus (Carnivora: Ursidae)? |journal=Annales Zoologici Fennici |pages=93–102 |jstor=23735739 |volume=36 |issue=#2}}{{cite journal |doi=10.1644/1545-1410(2002)696<0001:HM>2.0.CO;2 |url=http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/696_Helarctos_malayanus.pdf |year=2002 |volume=696 |pages=1–5 |title=Helarctos malayanus |journal=Mammalian Species |last1=Fitzgerald |first1=Christopher S. |last2=Krausman |first2=Paul R. |s2cid=198969265 |access-date=12 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304113314/http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/696_Helarctos_malayanus.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }} to be marine mammals, the Kodiak bear is the largest{{cite web |url=https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/education/wns/brown_bear.pdf |publisher=Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation |year=2008 |title=Kodiak Bear Fact Sheet |access-date=2008-10-27}}{{cite web |url=http://www.fws.gov/endangered/factsheets/polar_bear.pdf |title=Polar bear, (Ursus maritimus) |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife service |access-date=22 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080711033807/http://www.fws.gov/endangered/factsheets/polar_bear.pdf |archive-date=11 July 2008 |quote=Appearance. The polar bear is the largest member of the bear family, with the exception of Alaska's Kodiak bear, which equals the polar bear in size. }} ([http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=A0IJ Overview page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217033654/http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=A0IJ |date=17 February 2015 }}) of the living land-based mammalian predators.]]
The largest subspecies are the Kodiak bear (U. a. middendorffi) and the questionably-distinct peninsular giant bear or coastal brown bear (U. a. gyas).{{cite web |url=http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-library/pdf/polar_bear.pdf |title=Polar bear, (Ursus maritimus) |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |quote=Appearance.([https://web.archive.org/web/20081216165727/http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/SpeciesReport.do?spcode=A0IJ Overview page]) |access-date=2019-11-19 |archive-date=2008-07-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080711033807/http://www.fws.gov/endangered/factsheets/polar_bear.pdf |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |title=Kodiak Brown Bear- Kodiak- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |url=http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Kodiak/wildlife_and_habitat/bear.html |publisher=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |access-date=2019-11-19 |archive-date=2015-04-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418004716/http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Kodiak/wildlife_and_habitat/bear.html |url-status=dead }} Also, the extinct California grizzly bear (U. a. californicus) was rather large.{{cite news|last1=LaFee|first1=Scott|title=Seeds of doubt|url=http://www.utsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080529/news_1c29bear.html|newspaper=San Diego Union Tribune|date=2008-05-29}} Once mature, the typical female Kodiak bear can range in body mass from {{convert|120|to|318|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and from sexual maturity onward, males range from {{convert|168|to|675|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.Troyer, W.A. & Hensel, R.J. (1969). The Brown Bear of Kodiak Island. Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Report. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Kodiak, Alaska, USA.Henkelmann, A. (2011). [https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/handle/11122/5040?show=full Predictive modeling of Alaskan brown bears (Ursus arctos): assessing future climate impacts with open access online software]. PhD thesis, Lincoln University, New Zealand 21. According to the Guinness Book of World Records the average male Kodiak bear is {{convert|2.44|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} in total length (head-to-tail) and has a shoulder height of {{convert|1.33|m|ftin|abbr=on}}. When averaged between their spring low and fall high weights from both localities, males from Kodiak island and coastal Alaska weighed from {{convert|312|to|389|kg|lb|abbr=on}} with a mean body mass of {{convert|357|kg|lb|abbr=on}} while the same figures in females were {{convert|202|to|256|kg|lb|abbr=on}} with a mean body mass of {{convert|224|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.LeFranc, M.N. (1987). Grizzly bear compendium. Washington, DC, USA: Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee.{{cite journal|author=Miller, S.D., Becker, E.F., Ballard, W.B.|title=Black and Brown Bear Density Estimates Using Modified Capture-Recapture Techniques in Alaska |journal=Bears: Their Biology and Management |year=1987|jstor=3872604|volume=7|pages= 23–35|doi=10.2307/3872604 }}{{cite journal|author=Miller, S.D., Sellers, R.A., Keay, J.A.|year= 2003|title=Effects of hunting on brown bear cub survival and litter size in Alaska|jstor=3873014|journal= Ursus |volume=14|issue= #2|pages= 130–152}} By the time they reach or exceed eight to nine years of age, male Kodiak bears tend to be much larger than newly mature six-year-old males, potentially tripling their average weight within three years' time, and can expect to average between {{convert|360|and|545|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. The reported mean adult body masses for both sexes of the polar bear are very similar to the peninsular giant and Kodiak bears. Due to their roughly corresponding body sizes, the two subtypes and the species can both legitimately be considered the largest living member of the bear family Ursidae and the largest extant terrestrial carnivores.{{cite journal|author=Derocher, A. E., & Wiig, Ø. |title=Postnatal growth in body length and mass of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) at Svalbard|journal=Journal of Zoology|volume=256|issue=#3|page=343|doi=10.1017/S0952836902000377|year=2002}}{{cite journal|author=Durner, G. M., & Amstrup, S. C. |year=1996|title=Mass and body-dimension relationships of polar bears in northern Alaska|journal= Wildlife Society Bulletin|pages= 480–484|jstor=3783330|volume=24|issue=#3}} The largest widely accepted size for a wild Kodiak bear, as well as for a brown bear, was for a bear killed in English Bay on Kodiak Island in fall 1894 as several measurements were made of this bear, including a body mass of {{convert|751|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, and a hind foot and a voucher skull were examined and verified by the Guinness Book of World Records.Carwardine, M. (2008). Animal Records. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. Claims have been made of larger brown bears, but these appear to be poorly documented and unverified and some, even if recited by reputable authors, may be dubious hunters' claims.{{cite book|year=1993|title=Mammals of Europe|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=New Jersey|page=[https://archive.org/details/mammalsofeurope00macd/page/107 107]|isbn=978-0-691-09160-0|author1=Macdonald, D.W.|author2=Barrett, P.|url=https://archive.org/details/mammalsofeurope00macd/page/107}}
The largest variety of brown bear from Eurasia is the Kamchatkan brown bear (U. a. beringianus). In the Kamchatkan brown bears from past decades, old males have been known to reach a body mass of {{convert|500|-|685|kg|lb|abbr=on}} by fall, putting the subtype well within Kodiak bear sizes and leading it to be considered the largest of the extant Russian subtypes. However, a diminishment in body size of U. a. berigianus has been noted, mostly likely in correlation with overhunting.{{cite journal|author=Marciszak, A., Stefaniak, K., Mackiewicz, P., & Ridush, B. |title=Ursus arctos L., 1758 from Bukovynka Cave (W Ukraine) in an overview on the fossil brown bears size variability based on cranial material|journal=Quaternary International|volume=357|page=136|doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2014.09.052|year=2015|bibcode=2015QuInt.357..136M}}{{cite journal|author=Kistchinski, A. A. |title='Life history of the brown bear (Ursus arctos L.) in north-east Siberia|journal=Bears: Their Biology and Management|volume=2|pages=67–73|doi=10.2307/3872570|jstor=3872570|year=1972}}{{cite journal|author=Chestin, I. E., Gubar, Y. P., Sokolov, V. E., & Lobachev, V. S. |year=1992|jstor=23735466|title=The brown bear (Ursus arctos L.) in the USSR: numbers, hunting and systematics|journal= Annales Zoologici Fennici |pages=57–68|url=http://www.sekj.org/PDF/anzf29/anz29-057-068.pdf|volume=29|issue=#2}} In the 1960s and 1970s, most adult Kamchatkan brown bears weighed merely between {{convert|150|and|285|kg|lb|abbr=on}}; however, mean weights of mature male bears have been reported as averaging {{convert|350|to|450|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in 2005.
References
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{{Arctos}}
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