Post by warsaw on Apr 23, 2016 2:22:55 GMT -9
A New Color Phase of Ursus thibetanus
(Mammalia: Ursidae) from Southeast Asia
Notes
The Asiatic black bear or moon bear， Ursus thibetanus G. Cuvier， is known t'O have
black (c'Omm'On) and br'Own (rare) color phases. We here document a bl'Ond c'Ol'Or phase and
“intermediates" between the bl'Ond and black phases. It is striking that a distinct f'Orm 'Of
a large mammal can still be described at the beginning 'Of the 21 st century.
Terminology. Site acr'Onyms incIude BWC f'Or Banglamung Wildlife Breeding Center 'Of
the Thai R'Oyal F'Orest Department; LZ for Lopburi Z'O'O， Thailand; and BF for Bayab F紅 加
Z'Oo， Camb'Odia. Bears 'One t'O f'Our ye訂 sin age are considered “subadult." Th'Ough longest
'On the neck sides， the “mane" technically comprises all hair grown fr'Om the top and sides
of the neck and head， f'Orward t'O and incIuding a strip anteri'Or t'O出eears.
Background and methods. Pelage 'Of black-phase invidivuals (when n'Ot in molt) is
indeed mainly black extemally， the muzzle and the usually pale chest-mark being紅 eas
typically 'Of different c'Ol'Orati'On; see POCOCK (1932， 1941) for a discussi'On 'Of pelage c'Olor
variati'On. Many “black" cover hairs are actually banded， with minimally 'One black band
and a proximal brown， gray， 'Or bl'Ond band. The number of bands can reach at least f'Our.
Dark brown Pakistan specimens were rep'Orted by BLANFORD (1877) and ROBERTS
(1977).百leserec'Ords仕omthe westem p訂 tof白especies' dis位ibuti'Onare now supplemented
by similar BWC specimens (e.g.， Fig. lA) from S'Outheast Asia.
MILLET (1930) n'Oted indigen'Ous kn'Owledge in what is now s'Outhem Vietnam 'Of a
large，“fauve" type 'Of bear. In 1988 in Simao， s'Outhem Yunnan， Galbreath姐 dP. S.
Walker examined a captive bl'Ond-phase male m'O'On bear. In 1999-2001， 13 m'Ore bl'Ondphase
'Or intermediate captive specimens were examined in Thailand and Camb'Odia， five
'Of which紅 ehere described and figured t'O illustrate variati'On. Using mit'Och'Ondrial DNA
fr'Om hair samples， a 288 base司 pairfragment containing porti'Ons of the cyt'Ochrome b gene
and出 ec'Ontr'Ol region was sequenced for four of these specimens and for 12 'Other individuals.
Results. With reg訂 dt'O 14 blond-phase or intermediate bears， regi'Ons 'Of“blond" pelage
ranged fr'Om tan to very pale yell'Ow. Many black hairs were banded with bl'Ond.τ'he
muzzle was always mainly pale， and the pale chest mark remained identifiable.
An adult female (LZ1， Fig. lB-D) was extensively bl'Ond; black pelage was visible
'Only 'On mane and perhaps withers. A subadult female (Fig. 1E，F; since rel'Ocated t'O Phnom
Tama'O Z'O'O)， als'O extensively bl'Ond， had been captured as a cub in 1997 within a few km
'Of Nati'Onal R'Oad N'O. 4 in n'Orthem Prey Nup District， Sihan'Oukville Pr'Ovince， Camb'Odia.
Black pelage was visible 'Only 'On mane， ear edges支 andperhaps eye regi'On and/'Or withers.
A subadult female (BF1， Fig. 2A，B) and tw'O adult males (LZ2， BWC3; Fig. 2C-E)
were intermediate in c'Oloration， being notably darker than blond-phase bears in dorsal 'Or
lateral view. T he female had a blonder face and nape than the 'Other tw'O， a blonder
underside than at least LZ2， and a large， distinct black patch ab'Ove the tail. She had
reportedly been captured well west of Kampong Speu city， near the border between Koh
Kong and Kampong Speu Provinces. Male LZ2 had the darkest head and lower forelimbs.
Black-phase adult male BWC4 (Fig. 2F) exemplifies another link with the blond
phase. Limited blond areas occurred on face， ears， and lower limbs. Another light-faced
specimen， subadult male BWC5， provided DNA and was more thoroughly examined. He
had blond hair rooted inside the pinnae， some pale pelage on the lower forelimbs，組da
mottled face with large eye patches. Many black hairs were banded with pale yellow.
At a private zoo， three litters were reportedly produced by the same blond (male) and
intermediate (female) p釘 ents.Two subadults or adults， reportedly from the s創 nelitter，
were intermediate and blond respectively. Two cubs from a second litter were intermediate，
though predominantly light tan. A recently produced cub was blond.
One haplotype was possessed by the four sequenced blond or intermediate bears (Prey
Nup， LZ1， BF1，組dLZ2)， by BF2 and LZ3，組dby six BWC bears (including the lightfaced
BWC5佃 dBWCI7). Four other haplotypes were found among BWC and LZ
speclmens.
Discussion. That blond coloration is heritable is indicated by the breeding data. Particolor，巴dpatteming
(Fig. 2B-D) exemplified by LZ2 and BFl may resemble an early stage
in the evolution of血epattem of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca).
One haplotype was sh釘 edby blond and black specimens.百lecoloration continuum
佃 d出eDNA data toge由erindicate白紙 blondspecimens do not represent a new species，
but belong to U. thibetanus. That a blond individual can occur wi白血 aprimarily blackphase
population is shown by the case of the Prey Nup bear.百lere釘 e，then， at least three
color phases of U. thibetanus， black， brown， and blond， paralleling phases of U. americanus.
With regard to biogeography， the blond Prey Nup specimen and reportedly BFl came
from southwestem Cambodia. A Brou informant in Lao reported a convincing field sighting
from Mok Dis凶ctof Xiangkhouang Province. We conclude that the blond phase of U.
thibetanus occurs in the Elephant/Oral/Cardamom Mts. complex， probably occurs in出e
northem Annamite Mts.，組dmay well occur elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
Acknowledgments. We thank: Thai Royal Forest Department; Thai Society for the
Conservation of Wild Animals; Lopburi Zoo; Department of Geology， and Division of
Mammals of Dep釘 tmentof Zoology， Field Museum of Natural History; J. R. Chambedain;
His Excellency S. Chhun， Undersecretary of State， Cambodia; R. A. Holmgren; J. Lindsjo;
P. T. Noppakun; G. E. Perera; P. Rattanapom; P. Sanpote; C. Sutel; S. Ty; K. V佃 g;L.
Vejjajiva; L. P. Waits; P. S. Walker; Lt. Col. W. Phupiangjai; G. van Zuylen. Partial
funding was provided by Northwestem University.
www.siamese-heritage.org/nhbsspdf/vol041-050/NHBSS_049_1n_Galbreath_ANewColorPhaseO.pdf
(Mammalia: Ursidae) from Southeast Asia
Notes
The Asiatic black bear or moon bear， Ursus thibetanus G. Cuvier， is known t'O have
black (c'Omm'On) and br'Own (rare) color phases. We here document a bl'Ond c'Ol'Or phase and
“intermediates" between the bl'Ond and black phases. It is striking that a distinct f'Orm 'Of
a large mammal can still be described at the beginning 'Of the 21 st century.
Terminology. Site acr'Onyms incIude BWC f'Or Banglamung Wildlife Breeding Center 'Of
the Thai R'Oyal F'Orest Department; LZ for Lopburi Z'O'O， Thailand; and BF for Bayab F紅 加
Z'Oo， Camb'Odia. Bears 'One t'O f'Our ye訂 sin age are considered “subadult." Th'Ough longest
'On the neck sides， the “mane" technically comprises all hair grown fr'Om the top and sides
of the neck and head， f'Orward t'O and incIuding a strip anteri'Or t'O出eears.
Background and methods. Pelage 'Of black-phase invidivuals (when n'Ot in molt) is
indeed mainly black extemally， the muzzle and the usually pale chest-mark being紅 eas
typically 'Of different c'Ol'Orati'On; see POCOCK (1932， 1941) for a discussi'On 'Of pelage c'Olor
variati'On. Many “black" cover hairs are actually banded， with minimally 'One black band
and a proximal brown， gray， 'Or bl'Ond band. The number of bands can reach at least f'Our.
Dark brown Pakistan specimens were rep'Orted by BLANFORD (1877) and ROBERTS
(1977).百leserec'Ords仕omthe westem p訂 tof白especies' dis位ibuti'Onare now supplemented
by similar BWC specimens (e.g.， Fig. lA) from S'Outheast Asia.
MILLET (1930) n'Oted indigen'Ous kn'Owledge in what is now s'Outhem Vietnam 'Of a
large，“fauve" type 'Of bear. In 1988 in Simao， s'Outhem Yunnan， Galbreath姐 dP. S.
Walker examined a captive bl'Ond-phase male m'O'On bear. In 1999-2001， 13 m'Ore bl'Ondphase
'Or intermediate captive specimens were examined in Thailand and Camb'Odia， five
'Of which紅 ehere described and figured t'O illustrate variati'On. Using mit'Och'Ondrial DNA
fr'Om hair samples， a 288 base司 pairfragment containing porti'Ons of the cyt'Ochrome b gene
and出 ec'Ontr'Ol region was sequenced for four of these specimens and for 12 'Other individuals.
Results. With reg訂 dt'O 14 blond-phase or intermediate bears， regi'Ons 'Of“blond" pelage
ranged fr'Om tan to very pale yell'Ow. Many black hairs were banded with bl'Ond.τ'he
muzzle was always mainly pale， and the pale chest mark remained identifiable.
An adult female (LZ1， Fig. lB-D) was extensively bl'Ond; black pelage was visible
'Only 'On mane and perhaps withers. A subadult female (Fig. 1E，F; since rel'Ocated t'O Phnom
Tama'O Z'O'O)， als'O extensively bl'Ond， had been captured as a cub in 1997 within a few km
'Of Nati'Onal R'Oad N'O. 4 in n'Orthem Prey Nup District， Sihan'Oukville Pr'Ovince， Camb'Odia.
Black pelage was visible 'Only 'On mane， ear edges支 andperhaps eye regi'On and/'Or withers.
A subadult female (BF1， Fig. 2A，B) and tw'O adult males (LZ2， BWC3; Fig. 2C-E)
were intermediate in c'Oloration， being notably darker than blond-phase bears in dorsal 'Or
lateral view. T he female had a blonder face and nape than the 'Other tw'O， a blonder
underside than at least LZ2， and a large， distinct black patch ab'Ove the tail. She had
reportedly been captured well west of Kampong Speu city， near the border between Koh
Kong and Kampong Speu Provinces. Male LZ2 had the darkest head and lower forelimbs.
Black-phase adult male BWC4 (Fig. 2F) exemplifies another link with the blond
phase. Limited blond areas occurred on face， ears， and lower limbs. Another light-faced
specimen， subadult male BWC5， provided DNA and was more thoroughly examined. He
had blond hair rooted inside the pinnae， some pale pelage on the lower forelimbs，組da
mottled face with large eye patches. Many black hairs were banded with pale yellow.
At a private zoo， three litters were reportedly produced by the same blond (male) and
intermediate (female) p釘 ents.Two subadults or adults， reportedly from the s創 nelitter，
were intermediate and blond respectively. Two cubs from a second litter were intermediate，
though predominantly light tan. A recently produced cub was blond.
One haplotype was possessed by the four sequenced blond or intermediate bears (Prey
Nup， LZ1， BF1，組dLZ2)， by BF2 and LZ3，組dby six BWC bears (including the lightfaced
BWC5佃 dBWCI7). Four other haplotypes were found among BWC and LZ
speclmens.
Discussion. That blond coloration is heritable is indicated by the breeding data. Particolor，巴dpatteming
(Fig. 2B-D) exemplified by LZ2 and BFl may resemble an early stage
in the evolution of血epattem of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca).
One haplotype was sh釘 edby blond and black specimens.百lecoloration continuum
佃 d出eDNA data toge由erindicate白紙 blondspecimens do not represent a new species，
but belong to U. thibetanus. That a blond individual can occur wi白血 aprimarily blackphase
population is shown by the case of the Prey Nup bear.百lere釘 e，then， at least three
color phases of U. thibetanus， black， brown， and blond， paralleling phases of U. americanus.
With regard to biogeography， the blond Prey Nup specimen and reportedly BFl came
from southwestem Cambodia. A Brou informant in Lao reported a convincing field sighting
from Mok Dis凶ctof Xiangkhouang Province. We conclude that the blond phase of U.
thibetanus occurs in the Elephant/Oral/Cardamom Mts. complex， probably occurs in出e
northem Annamite Mts.，組dmay well occur elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
Acknowledgments. We thank: Thai Royal Forest Department; Thai Society for the
Conservation of Wild Animals; Lopburi Zoo; Department of Geology， and Division of
Mammals of Dep釘 tmentof Zoology， Field Museum of Natural History; J. R. Chambedain;
His Excellency S. Chhun， Undersecretary of State， Cambodia; R. A. Holmgren; J. Lindsjo;
P. T. Noppakun; G. E. Perera; P. Rattanapom; P. Sanpote; C. Sutel; S. Ty; K. V佃 g;L.
Vejjajiva; L. P. Waits; P. S. Walker; Lt. Col. W. Phupiangjai; G. van Zuylen. Partial
funding was provided by Northwestem University.
www.siamese-heritage.org/nhbsspdf/vol041-050/NHBSS_049_1n_Galbreath_ANewColorPhaseO.pdf