Editing American black bear (section)

=== Subspecies ===
Sixteen subspecies are traditionally recognized; however, a recent genetic study does not support designating some of these, such as the Florida black bear, as distinct subspecies.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Puckett|first1=Emily E.|last2=Etter|first2=P.|last3=Johnson|first3=E.|last4=Eggert|first4=L.|date=2015|title=Phylogeographic Analyses of American Black Bears (Ursus americanus) Suggest Four Glacial Refugia and Complex Patterns of Postglacial Admixture.|journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution|volume=32|issue=9|pages=2338–2350|doi=10.1093/molbev/msv114|pmid=25989983|s2cid=25207563|doi-access=free}}</ref> Listed alphabetically according to subspecific name:<ref name=Ulev2007>{{cite web|last=Ulev|first=Elena|title=Ursus americanus|work=Fire Effects Information System|publisher=U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory|location=Missoula, Montana|year=2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423185054/https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/animals/mammal/uram/all.html|url=https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/animals/mammal/uram/all.html|accessdate=September 23, 2021|archivedate=April 23, 2022|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[https://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/resources/msw3/browse.asp?id=14000953 "''Ursus americanus''"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306015112/http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/resources/msw3/browse.asp?id=14000953 |date=March 6, 2022 }}, ''Mammal Species of the World'', 3rd ed.</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2020}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+American black bear subspecies

!Image !! Scientific name!! Common name!! Distribution!! Description
|-
| valign="top" | [[File:Black bear Quesnel Lake BC.jpg|120px]]
| valign="top" | ''Ursus americanus altifrontalis''
| valign="top" | Olympic black bear
| valign="top" | the Pacific Northwest coast from central [[British Columbia]] through northern [[California]] and inland to the tip of northern [[Idaho]] and British Columbia
| valign="top" |
|-
| valign="top" | [[File:Black bear Yellowstone NP 2008.jpg|120px]]
| valign="top" | ''Ursus americanus amblyceps''
| valign="top" | New Mexico black bear
| valign="top" | [[Colorado]], [[New Mexico]], western [[Texas]] and the eastern half of [[Arizona]] into northern [[Mexico]] and southeastern [[Utah]]
| valign="top" |
|-
| valign="top" | [[File:Ursus americanus PO 03.jpg|120px]]
| valign="top" | ''Ursus americanus americanus''
| valign="top" | Eastern black bear
| valign="top" | Eastern [[Montana]] to the Atlantic coast, from [[Alaska]] south and east through [[Canada]] to [[Maine]] and south to [[Texas]]. Thought to be increasing in some regions.
| valign="top" | Common to [[Eastern Canada]] and the [[Eastern United States|eastern U.S.]] wherever suitable habitat is found. A large-bodied subspecies; almost all specimens have black fur. May very rarely sport a white blaze on the chest. 
|-
| valign="top" | [[File:Black Bear (20261425192).jpg|120px]]
| valign="top" | ''Ursus americanus californiensis''
| valign="top" | California black bear
| valign="top" | the mountain ranges of southern [[California]], north through the [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]] to southern [[Oregon]]
| valign="top" | Able to live in varied climates: found in temperate rain forest in the north and [[chaparral]] shrubland in the south. Small numbers may feature cinnamon-colored fur.
|-
| valign="top" | 
| valign="top" | ''Ursus americanus carlottae''
| valign="top" | [[Ursus americanus carlottae|Haida Gwaii black bear or Queen Charlotte Islands black bear]]
| [[Haida Gwaii]] (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands) and [[Alaska]]
| valign="top" | Generally larger than its mainland counterparts with a large skull and molars and found only in a black color phase.<ref name="charlotte">{{cite web |url=http://www.llbc.leg.bc.ca/public/PubDocs/bcdocs/373436/Chapter%202.8.pdf |title=Haida Gwaii Black Bear (''Ursus Americanus Carlottae'' Subspecies) |access-date=February 21, 2011 |archive-date=April 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170420232921/http://www.llbc.leg.bc.ca/public/pubdocs/bcdocs/373436/chapter%202.8.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
| valign="top" | [[File:"Cinnamon" Black Bear.jpg|120px]]
| valign="top" | ''Ursus americanus cinnamomum''
| valign="top" | [[Cinnamon bear]]
| valign="top" | Colorado, Idaho, western Montana and Wyoming, eastern Washington and Oregon and northeastern Utah
| valign="top" | Has brown or reddish-brown fur, reminiscent of cinnamon.
|-
| valign="top" | [[File:Glacier-Bear.jpg|120px]]
| valign="top" | ''Ursus americanus emmonsii''
| valign="top" | [[Glacier bear]] or blue bear
| valign="top" | [[Southeast Alaska|Southeastern Alaska]]
| valign="top" | Distinguished by its fur being silvery-gray with a blue luster found mostly on its flanks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org/S/0MCarnivor/ursidae/ursus/Ursus_americanus/19Ursus_americanusSpecVar.html |title=Species Variation – Editorial Comment |publisher=Wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org |access-date=February 21, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723235708/http://wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org/S/0MCarnivor/ursidae/ursus/Ursus_americanus/19Ursus_americanusSpecVar.html |archive-date=July 23, 2011 }}</ref>
|-
| valign="top" | [[File:Ursus americanus eremicus.jpg|120px]]
| valign="top" | ''Ursus americanus eremicus''
| valign="top" | East Mexican black bear
| valign="top" | Northeastern Mexico and U.S. borderlands with Texas. 
| valign="top" | Most often found in [[Big Bend National Park]] and the desert border with Mexico. Numbers unknown in Mexico but are presumed to be very low. Critically Endangered.
|-
| valign="top" | [[File:A Florida Black Bear.jpg|120px]]
| valign="top" | ''Ursus americanus floridanus''
| valign="top" | [[Florida black bear]]
| valign="top" | [[Florida]], southern [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Alabama]] and [[Mississippi]] (except the southern region)
| valign="top" | Has a light brown nose and shiny black fur. A white blaze on the chest is common in this subspecies. An average male weighs {{convert|136|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.
|-
| valign="top" | [[File:American black bear Gros Mornе NFL.jpg|120px]]
| valign="top" | ''Ursus americanus hamiltoni''
| valign="top" | [[Newfoundland black bear]]
| valign="top" | [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]]
| valign="top" | Generally bigger than its mainland relatives, ranging in size from {{convert|90|to|270|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and averaging {{convert|135|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. It has one of the longest hibernation periods of any bear in North America.<ref>[http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nl/grosmorne/natcul/natcul3.aspx#a3 "Black Bear"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821035644/http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nl/grosmorne/natcul/natcul3.aspx |date=August 21, 2014 }}, Parks Canada</ref> Known to favor foraging in fields of ''[[Vaccinium]]'' species.
|-
| valign="top" | [[File:Ursus americanus kermodei, Spirit Bear Lodge, Klemtu, BC 1.jpg|120px]]
| valign="top" | ''Ursus americanus kermodei''
| valign="top" | [[Kermode bear]] or island white bear, spirit bear
| valign="top" | the central coast of British Columbia
| valign="top" | Approximately 10% of the population of this subspecies have white or cream-colored coats due to a recessive gene. The other 90% appear as normal-colored black bears.<ref name="Gov.bc">{{cite web|title=Spirit Bear Facts |url=http://www.corporate.gov.bc.ca/bcspiritbear/more_about_spirit_bear.htm |publisher=Province of British Columbia |access-date=December 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091217143929/http://www.corporate.gov.bc.ca/bcspiritbear/more_about_spirit_bear.htm |archive-date=December 17, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
| valign="top" |
| valign="top" | ''Ursus americanus luteolus''
| valign="top" | [[Louisiana black bear]]
| valign="top" | Eastern Texas, [[Louisiana]] and southern [[Mississippi]]. The validity of this subspecies has been repeatedly disputed.<ref name="iucn" />
| valign="top" | Has relatively long, narrow and flat skull and proportionately large molars.<ref>[http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0013_louisiana_black_bear.pdf ''Louisiana Black Bear'' (PDF).] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224095210/http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0013_louisiana_black_bear.pdf |date=December 24, 2013 }} Retrieved September 15, 2011.</ref> Prefers [[hardwood bottom forest]]s and [[bayou]]s as habitat.
|-
| valign="top" |[[File:Ursus americanus machetes.jpg|120px]]
| valign="top" | ''Ursus americanus machetes''
| valign="top" | West Mexican black bear
| valign="top" | north-central Mexico
| valign="top" |
|-
| valign="top" |
| valign="top" | ''Ursus americanus perniger''
| valign="top" | Kenai black bear
| valign="top" | the [[Kenai Peninsula]], Alaska
| valign="top" | Considered an "Apparently Secure Subspecies" by [[NatureServe]].<ref>{{cite web |title=NatureServe Explorer 2.0 |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.103496/Ursus_americanus_perniger |website=explorer.natureserve.org |access-date=31 March 2022 |archive-date=March 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331172917/https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.103496/Ursus_americanus_perniger |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
| valign="top" |
| valign="top" | ''Ursus americanus pugnax''
| valign="top" | Dall Island black bear
| valign="top" | [[Dall Island]] in the [[Alexander Archipelago]], Alaska
| valign="top" |
|-
| valign="top" |
| valign="top" | ''Ursus americanus vancouveri''
| valign="top" | Vancouver Island black bear
| valign="top" | [[Vancouver Island]], British Columbia
| valign="top" | Darker and slightly bigger than the other five subspecies found in British Columbia; it is most common in the north, but appears occasionally in the southern parts of Vancouver Island.
|}