Welcome to Agriotherium
Name Definition
Sour beast
Name Given By
A. sivalensis/Falconer & Cautley in 1836 ; A. insigne/Gervais in 1859 ; A. inexpetans/Qiu et al. in 1991 ; A. myanmarensis/Ogino et al. in 2011 ; A. palaeindicus/Lydekker in 1878 ; A. africanum/Hendey in 1972 ; A. coffeyi/Dalquest in 1986 ; A gregoryi/Frick in 1926 ; A. schneideri/Sellards in 1916
Location
present in continents around the northern Hemisphere, though it also was found in Africa
Classification
Mammalia, Carnivora, Arctoidea, Ursidae
Size
was about 3 meters tall when rearing up/around 1.5 meters on all four limbs ; 2.7 meters long, weighed about 900 kg (1980 lbs)
Temporal Range
Serravallian of the Miocene - Gelasian of the Pleistocene, around 13.6 - 2.5 million years ago
Ecological niche
Large omnivore and most likely a scavenger
Species/Sub Species
A. sivalensis (type species), A myanmarensis, A. insigne, A. africanum, A. coffeyi, A. schneideri, A. gregoryi, A. palaeindicus, A. inexpetans
Diet
Analysis of the dentition and jaw show that Agriotherium was an omnivore that would consume a lot of plant and fruit matter while also consuming a significant amount of meat from carcasses
Introduction
Agriotherium is a genus of extinct bears that lived in the northern Hemisphere and Africa during the Miocene - Pleistocene epochs of the Cenozoic. Currently one of the better known bears in the fossil record, Agriotherium is also one of the largest known. This would give off the perception that Agriotherium was a large active predator with immense strength, though these might just be false. If you look closer at the post cranial remains, you can see that Agriotherium was rather lightly built for a bear its size, unlike the short faced bear or Arctodus. This is a sign that Agriotherium was not adapted to catching and keeping hold of struggling prey or other force exerting activities. Another reason why Agriotherium is probably not a vicious predator is because of the short snout it possesses for a bear. Because of this, prey that Agriotherium caught would be closer to the point where the jaws articulate, allowing Agriotherium to exert more force onto the prey and not thrash it around to incapacitate it. These features are known to also have been shared with Arctodus, and isotope analysis shows that Agriotherium was eating a majority of the animals in its ecosystem, something more common for a scavenger rather than an active predator. Because of this, it is reasonable to speculate that Agriotherium as well as Arctodus were scavengers. This theory also fits in with the rest of the circumstances. While Agriotherium isn’t a very strong bear, it was still a large creature and would be able to drive away other smaller carnivores from the kills by intimidation, as well as giving Agriotherium less work to do. This is also similar to modern day wolves and bears, where bears will intimidate and scare off a pack of wolves after they’ve killed their prey. Because it was probably a scavenger, Agriotherium would have probably arrived to carcasses after all the fresh meat on the outside was consumed, however, Agriotherium would still be able to feed on the bone marrow. This is because in 2012, a computer test showed that Agriotherium had one of the strongest bite forces in the entire Carnivora order, which consists of most of the carnivorous mammals. Because of this, Agriotherium would have been one of the more healthy predators in the ecosystem since it would be able to crack bones and feed on the bone marrow which is high in protein, calories, fat, and also collagen which improves the overall condition of the skin and bones. While it may have been a scavenger, we have yet to discuss the herbivorous side of its diet. The analysis of the skull shows that the jaws, dentition, and wear patterns match those of a herbivore, meaning that Agriotherium was an omnivore and probably not a hyper-carnivore (a hyper carnivore is a carnivorous animal with a diet that consists of more than 70% meat). This would have meant that it would have also fed on tough plant and fruit matter in its ecosystem besides just carcasses. However, this scavenger speculation of Agriotherium still does fit in with the known timeline. Agriotherium appeared first in the Miocene, and went extinct around the early Pleistocene. Its relative, Arctodus, appeared first around 2 million years ago during the Pleistocene, the same time where Agriotherium approximately went extinct. This is a common theme in most extinctions of the Cenozoic mammals, as usually they are replaced by more adaptable versions that can cope with the environment or they can do the same thing at the same time. This is what most likely happened to Agriotherium, since it was replaced by Arctodus and other scavenging animals like hyenas, albeit during its time it was one of the supreme carnivores. Above is an image of Agriotherium africanum