Description

Ursus savini is known primarily from fossils found in Britain, Germany, Spain, and other parts of Europe. It represents an intermediate form between the smaller Ursus etruscus and the later, larger Ursus arctos (the modern brown bear). Fossil skulls and mandibles show a robust, broad-headed bear with powerful jaws, suggesting an omnivorous diet but a greater reliance on meat than its later descendants.

Paleontologically, U. savini lived during the cooler oscillations of the Middle Pleistocene, adapting to open woodland and steppe environments. It is thought to have been one of the first bear species capable of hibernation in cold climates, a crucial adaptation for survival during glacial cycles. Its presence in faunal layers helps define a key stage in the evolutionary lineage leading to modern brown and grizzly bears.