Ice age bear skeleton to be sold - 15/01/2010

The skeleton of an ice age cave bear is to go on sale later this month, it has been revealed.

Bonhams is to offer the Ursus spelaeus at an auction on January 20th, and expects the lot to fetch in the region of £18,000 to £22,000.

The bear, which is between 50 and 100 million years old, is a species that lived in Europe during the Pleistocene period and became extinct about 27,500 years ago at the beginning of the Last Glacial Maximum.

The beast, which was found in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, measures 102.5 inches in height and 45.3 inches in depth.

Standing tall on a metal plate, only the hip and shoulder blades have been replaced.

A number of other fossils will also be sold on the day, including a Crinoid from the Holzmaden shales in Germany that dates back to the Jurassic period – 206 million to 144 million years ago.

This piece has also been given a pre-sale estimate of £18,000 to £22,000.