Two Pleistocene Cave Bear Fossil Canine Teeth | Ursus spelaeus (Auction 2026-05-15, Lot 81)

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Eastern Europe, Pleistocene epoch, ca. 1.2 million to 24,000 years ago. Two fossilized canine teeth from prehistoric European cave bears (Ursus spelaeus), one larger and one smaller, representing the powerful dentition of these Ice Age animals. Cave bears were part of the megafauna that roamed alongside mammoths, woolly rhinos, giant deer, and lions, with males reaching sizes far exceeding modern grizzlies, though their diet was largely vegetarian; these well-preserved teeth likely come from cave deposits where bears perished during hibernation, before the species went extinct during the Last Glacial Maximum. Size: 4.4″ L x 1.4″ W (11.2 cm x 3.6 cm)

Provenance: private Texas, USA Collection, A Tharp

Good. Losses to enamel with peeling and separating of surface layers on larger tooth. Larger tooth has stable hairline fissures. Smaller tooth is intact without repair.