hendeyi Jiangzuo and Flynn, 2019 Agriotherium is an extinct genus of bears whose fossils are found in Miocene through Pleistocene-aged strata of North America, Eurasia, and Africa.
Shortened jaws with high bite forces are found in other mammals like Gelada baboons that eat grasses but evolved from non-grazing ancestors, and in bone-crushing scavengers, like spotted hyenas and borophagine dogs.
Though its teeth do not show adaptations for a carnivorous diet, isotope evidence suggests it did eat a significant amount of animal material, similar to some populations of modern brown bears.
Several studies of the skeleton, including a comparison with Hemicyon ursinus, a fossil bear widely accepted as a predator, show that Agriotherium did not have the limb strength or speed needed for active hunting, either by ambush or by chasing down prey.
These very large bears may have specialized on a combination of grazing, eating fruit and invertebrate food in season, and intimidating predators away from carcasses in order to scavenge meat and bone marrow.