Sexual dimorphism and morphometric variability of cheek teeth of the cave hear (Ursus spelaeus)

The sexual dimorphism and the morphometric variability of the cheek teeth in Ursus spelaeus from six geographically well-separated localities dating from the Middle Weichselian were studied. The sexual dimorphism of the canines and of the lower carnassials (m1) of the cave bear are as much or more expressed than the dimorphism of these teeth in the Recent brown bear. The examined cave bear assemblages are rather similar in tooth size and proportions. The differences between the assemblages were presumably influenced by the ratio of male to female bears. The posterior cheek teeth M2 and m3 allowed us to divide more northern (Goyet in Belgium, Niedzwiedzia in Poland, and Medvezhiya Cave in European Russia) from more southern (Eiros in Spain, Arcy-sur-Cure in France, and Odessa in Ukraine) sites. These grouping suggest a difference in the diet of the cave bears in the northern and southern parts of the species distribution range, at least during the time segments studied.