Age: Pleistocene

Size (25.4 mm = 1 inch): 225 mm long by 120 mm high by 120 mm wide

Location: Ural Mountains, Russia

Description: A spectacular example of a skull of a juvenile of the huge cave bear Ursus spelaeus that lived during the Pleistocene between 300,000 and 10,000 years ago. Cave bears were in excess of 3 meters tall when they stood on their hind legs, making it easy to understand why our ancestors revered them. This one is less than half the length of an adult (adult skulls typically are 450 - 550 mm in length). While all the examples pictured in the group photo are immature (the largest pictured is only 305 mm long), this one (rightmost specimen) is the smallest I have seen. Notice the fact that many of the teeth are the deciduous (baby, or milk teeth), with the adult ones pushing up from below.