The scientific name for polar bears is “ursus maritimus”what does this name mean?
Constantine John Phipps was the first to describe the polar bear as a distinct species. He chose the scientific name Ursus maritimus, the Latin for ‘maritime bear’ due to the animal’s native habitat. As maritime means ‘of the sea’ – sea bear would be your answer. The bear was briefly recategorised as a distinct phylum, Thalarctos, separate from other bears (Ursus) but was recategorised back to Ursus after evidence of hybridization between Brown Bears and Polar Bears was seen.
