Ursus thibetanus G. [Baron] Cuvier, 1823 . Rech. Oss. Foss., Nouv. ed., 4:325.

TYPE LOCALITY: "Cet ours a été trouvé d'abord par M. Wallich dans les montagnes du Napaul, et je l'ai rencontré également dans celles du Sylhet" [India, Assam, Sylhet].

DISTRIBUTION: Afghanistan, China, India, Indochina, Japan, Korea, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan, Taiwan, Thailand, Russia (SE Primorski Krai), Vietnam.

STATUS: CITES - Appendix I; U.S. ESA - Endangered as U. t. gedrosianus; IUCN - Endangered as If. t. gedrosianus, otherwise Vulnerable.

SYNONYMS: arboreus Gray, 1864; clarki Sowerby, 1920; formosanus Swinhoe, 1864; gedrosianus Blanford, 1877; japonicus Schlegel, 1857; laniger Pocock, 1932; leuconyx Heude, 1901; macneilli Lydekker, 1909; melli Matschie, 1922; mupinensis Heude, 1901; rexi Matschie, 1897; torquatus Wagner, 1841; ussuricus Heude, 1901; wulsini Howell, 1928.

COMMENTS: Placed in subgenus Selenarctos by Gromov and Baranova (1981); and in subgenus Euarctos by Thenius (1979). Allen (1938) suggested a close relationship to U. americanus; Pocock (1932&) retained in a separate genus, there is molecular support for both positions (Goldman et al., 1989).