The cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) is an extinct species which lived in Eurasia, where it appeared around 200,000 years ago. The cave bear owes its name to the discovery of its bones in underground environments in the late 18th century. Its remains are particularly abundant in these environments as a result of its prolonged occupation of caves in the cold season. Larger and more massive than the brown bear, the cave bear can also be distinguished by a very steep forehead, which gave it a stepped profile, together with a jaw with a rounded lower edge and an upward facing nasal opening.