Ancient DNA and dating of cave bear remains from Niedźwiedzia Cave suggest early appearance of Ursus ingressus in Sudetes

The migration of Ursus ingressus from Southern to Western Europe, where it replaced native forms of Ursus spelaeus, is well documented. However, its occurrence in Central and Eastern European countries is unexplored. We have characterized the cave bear population inhabiting the Sudetes Mountains during the Late Pleistocene. DNA analyses were performed on 39 cave bear specimens from the Niedźwiedzia Cave. Ten successfully yielded the 254-bp sequences of an mtDNA control region. Phylogenetic analyses allowed assignment of nine samples to the U. ingressus haplogroup and one to brown bear (Ursus arctos). The mtDNA haplotypes of U. ingressus formed a single cluster and differed from haplotypes obtained for cave bears from other excavation sites in Europe. Uranium–thorium and radiocarbon dating of selected samples has shown that U. ingressus appeared in the Sudetes region at least 80,000 years ago. This finding may suggest that the appearance of U. ingressus in this area resulted from migration that occurred earlier than the colonization of the Alps and Swabian Jura. It is possible that migration of U. ingressus proceeded along the Carpathian and Sudetes arc.