The Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus)
The Himalayan brown bear consists of a single clade that is the sister group to all other brown bears (and polar bears). The dating of the branching event, estimated at 658,000 years ago, corresponds to the period of a Middle Pleistocene episode of glaciation on the Tibetan plateau, suggesting that during this Nyanyaxungla glaciation the lineage that would give rise to the Himalayan brown bear became isolated in a distinct refuge, leading to its divergence.
The Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus)
The Himalayan brown bear consists of a single clade that is the sister group to all other brown bears (and polar bears). The dating of the branching event, estimated at 658,000 years ago, corresponds to the period of a Middle Pleistocene episode of glaciation on the Tibetan plateau, suggesting that during this Nyanyaxungla glaciation the lineage that would give rise to the Himalayan brown bear became isolated in a distinct refuge, leading to its divergence.