Morphometric analysis of recent brown bears (<i>Ursus arctos</i> Linnaeus, 1758) from Republic of North Macedonia

Abstract

The research on morphology and dimensions of the skulls of recent brown bear (Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758) showed the morphological and metric variability between intraspecific populations as well as the determination of sexual dimorphism. For the purpose of this study were analyzed 18 recent skulls from the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia and 1 recent skull of the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria. Up to date, published records indicated that the size of the bears from southern part of Europe were smaller, compared to the species of other parts of Europe. For this purpose, were analyzed the bones of the skull and was made the complete description of dentation. The sexual dimorphism accord-ing to the morphometry of ectoorbital bone and canines, were studied and confirmed too. Herein, is set the hypothesis concerning the cannines differences between male and female individuals too. Further-more, was determined that the studded brown bear population belongs to the typical Ursus arctos. In future, the presented tables and forms will contribute to further studies to compare the skulls of bears from Republic of North Macedonia, the Balkans and beyond.