Nature Atlas

How Nature Works
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Taxa

Melursus

Genus

Citation Formats

General Reference

APA Style

BibTeX

Melursus is a monotypic genus of bears, family Ursidae, containing only the sloth bear, Melursus ursinus, found across the Indian subcontinent including India, Nepal's Terai region, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, though regionally extinct in Bangladesh. Sometimes called the labiated bear for its elongated lower lip and enlarged palate adapted to sucking up termites and ants, it lacks upper incisors, carries long shaggy fur with a facial mane and a whitish Y- or V-shaped chest mark, and has the longest tail of any bear; it is listed as vulnerable, chiefly from habitat loss.

Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.

View At A Past Year

The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.