Ursus americanus carlottae

Haida Gwaii black bear
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Ursidae
Genus:	Ursus
Species:	U. americanus
Subspecies:	U. a. carlottae
Trinomial name
	Ursus americanus carlottae; Osgood, 1901

The Haida Gwaii black bear (Ursus americanus carlottae), also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands black bear, is a morphologically distinct subspecies of the American black bear. The most significant morphological differences are its large size, massive cranium and large molars. This subspecies is endemic to the Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands)[1] and is considered a "keystone species" because of the bears' transportation of salmon remains into the surrounding forests of the Haida Gwaii.

References

S. A. Byun; B. F. Koop; T. E. Reimchen (October 1997). "North American Black Bear mtDNA Phylogeography: Implications for Morphology and the Haida Gwaii Glacial Refugium Controversy". Evolution. Society for the Study of Evolution. 51 (5): 1647–1653. doi:10.2307/2411216. JSTOR 2411216.

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[1] S. A. Byun; B. F. Koop; T. E. Reimchen (October 1997). "North American Black Bear mtDNA Phylogeography: Implications for Morphology and the Haida Gwaii Glacial Refugium Controversy". Evolution. Society for the Study of Evolution. 51 (5): 1647–1653. doi:10.2307/2411216. JSTOR 2411216.