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Does anyone know why cave bears and cave lions are named "cave" bears and "cave" lions? I refuse to believe entire species of megafauna lived in caves and that

Does anyone know why cave bears and cave lions are named "cave" bears and "cave" lions? I refuse to believe entire species of megafauna lived in caves and that caves were somehow more plentiful in the distant past to be able to support the entirety of such large species. They should really come up with new and accurate descriptive names, or, at the very least, less inaccurate names.

mikequinlan 6y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_bear https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_bear The cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) was a species of bear that lived in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene and became extinct about 24,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum. Both the word "cave" and the scientific name spelaeus are used because fossils of this species were mostly found in caves. This reflects the views of experts that cave bears may have spent more time in caves than the brown bear, which uses caves only for hibernation.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- hutzlibu 6y ago
  "In fact, most cave bear fossils have been found inside caves, and paleontologists think these bears probably lived in the caves full-time, rather than just popping in for a quick four-month nap" Well, the article states different, but also to me this seems highly unlikely. Also because apparently this cave bear was not found in a cave.
- ComputerGuru 6y ago
  Or that’s where they were found because that’s the best-preserved place they sheltered in or went to die in. Especially for tigers: even domestic cats are known to search for a place to die alone and especially prefer cooler, darker places.
  - selestify 6y ago
    What evolutionary pressures would’ve caused an animal to seek a particular place to die?
    - naavis 6y ago
      If the animal has a contagious disease, it makes sense to isolate itself from the others.
    - distances 6y ago
      Humans, too, are affected by this at least under hypothermia. According to Wikipedia it's called "terminal burrowing", or "hide-and-die syndrome". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothermia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothermia
    - appleflaxen 6y ago
      I don't read that in the comment. S/he is saying they were selectively preserved in the fossil record while they were there. So if they died there, we would find them, whereas megafauna in the open would be lost to decay and would not fossilize. the article does suggest they actually did live in the caves "full-time" though: In fact, most cave bear fossils have been found inside caves, and paleontologists think these bears probably lived in the caves full-time, rather than just popping in for a quick four-month nap. Across Europe and Asia, bears and people probably competed for the same real estate for around 300,000 years; it probably wasn’t much of a contest, though. These lumbering Ice Age giants stood 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) high when they reared up on their hind legs, and the largest males weighed up to 600 kilograms (1,320 pounds). That’s about the size of a large polar bear or Kodiak bear today. You wouldn’t want to meet one in a dark cave.
  - _xerces_ 6y ago
    Not sure if you saw that part, but article mentions 300,000 years of coprolites found in the caves which indicates an extensive presence of these animals.
aksss 6y ago
I always assumed it associated them with cave men, so was just a rough mechanism of dating the animals.
pvg 6y ago
I asked this[1] of Jamie Woodward, an academic who tweets about Ice Age things. Sadly, he was unable or unwilling to answer. [1] OK, not precisely this, my questions were: "Why do only the cool animals get to have a cave version? Was there no cave weasel, cave bunny, cave vole? Also, who would win in a fight between a honey badger and a cave badger?"

mikequinlan 6y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_bear https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_bear The cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) was a species of bear that lived in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene and became extinct about 24,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum. Both the word "cave" and the scientific name spelaeus are used because fossils of this species were mostly found in caves. This reflects the views of experts that cave bears may have spent more time in caves than the brown bear, which uses caves only for hibernation.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
hutzlibu 6y ago
"In fact, most cave bear fossils have been found inside caves, and paleontologists think these bears probably lived in the caves full-time, rather than just popping in for a quick four-month nap" Well, the article states different, but also to me this seems highly unlikely. Also because apparently this cave bear was not found in a cave.
ComputerGuru 6y ago
Or that’s where they were found because that’s the best-preserved place they sheltered in or went to die in. Especially for tigers: even domestic cats are known to search for a place to die alone and especially prefer cooler, darker places.
- selestify 6y ago
  What evolutionary pressures would’ve caused an animal to seek a particular place to die?
  - naavis 6y ago
    If the animal has a contagious disease, it makes sense to isolate itself from the others.
  - distances 6y ago
    Humans, too, are affected by this at least under hypothermia. According to Wikipedia it's called "terminal burrowing", or "hide-and-die syndrome". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothermia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothermia
  - appleflaxen 6y ago
    I don't read that in the comment. S/he is saying they were selectively preserved in the fossil record while they were there. So if they died there, we would find them, whereas megafauna in the open would be lost to decay and would not fossilize. the article does suggest they actually did live in the caves "full-time" though: In fact, most cave bear fossils have been found inside caves, and paleontologists think these bears probably lived in the caves full-time, rather than just popping in for a quick four-month nap. Across Europe and Asia, bears and people probably competed for the same real estate for around 300,000 years; it probably wasn’t much of a contest, though. These lumbering Ice Age giants stood 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) high when they reared up on their hind legs, and the largest males weighed up to 600 kilograms (1,320 pounds). That’s about the size of a large polar bear or Kodiak bear today. You wouldn’t want to meet one in a dark cave.
- _xerces_ 6y ago
  Not sure if you saw that part, but article mentions 300,000 years of coprolites found in the caves which indicates an extensive presence of these animals.

aksss 6y ago

I always assumed it associated them with cave men, so was just a rough mechanism of dating the animals.

pvg 6y ago

I asked this[1] of Jamie Woodward, an academic who tweets about Ice Age things. Sadly, he was unable or unwilling to answer. [1] OK, not precisely this, my questions were: "Why do only the cool animals get to have a cave version? Was there no cave weasel, cave bunny, cave vole? Also, who would win in a fight between a honey badger and a cave badger?"