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UID:pretalx-nss-convention-2026-UKACBN@talks.caving.dev
DTSTART;TZID=EST:20260709T110500
DTEND;TZID=EST:20260709T120000
DESCRIPTION:In the late 1980s Tom Miller and other cavers were mapping a po
 rtion of the Chiquibul Cave System known as the Mind Proddler in Cebada Ca
 ve when they found an abundance of bat skeletons\, including an extinct ty
 pe of vampire bat. The same chamber also contained a complete skeleton of 
 a bear. This specimen was highlighted in a National Geographic article in 
 April of 2000\, and was identified as the extinct Florida cave bear\, Trem
 arctos floridanus.\n\nIn April of 2025\, our team revisited this section o
 f the cave to assess paleontological resources\, particularly the bear. De
 ntal measurements resemble the living spectacled bear of South America (Tr
 emarctos ornatus) more than the extinct T. floridanus\, and it may be the 
 former. If this is the case\, the specimen represents the first record of 
 the spectacled bear outside South America. It is also possible that the be
 ar represents a new morphotype\, a transitional form between the extinct (
 T. floridanus) and living (T. ornatus) forms\, or even a new species.\n\nP
 hotographs and scans of the bear skeleton provide an important record of t
 his unique and fragile fossil specimen. These records preserve the current
  condition of the material and can be used for research\, teaching\, outre
 ach\, and conservation purposes. After assessing this section of Cebada Ca
 ve\, it is clearly an extraordinary fossil locality that deserves more res
 earch and a high level of protection.
DTSTAMP:20260826T232302Z
LOCATION:102
SUMMARY:An Ancient Bear Skeleton from Cebada\, Chiquibul Cave System\, Beli
 ze - 
URL:https://talks.caving.dev/nss-convention-2026/talk/UKACBN/
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