Spectacled Bear - Naming and Etymology

Naming and Etymology

Tremarctos ornatus is commonly referred to in English as the "spectacled bear", a reference to the light colouring on its chest, neck and face which may resemble eyeglasses in some individuals, or the "Andean bear" for its distribution along the Andes.

The root trem- comes from a Greek word meaning "hole;" arctos is the Greek word for "bear." Tremarctos is a reference to an unusual hole on the animal's humerus. Ornatus, Latin for "decorated", is a reference to the markings that give the bear its common English name.

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