What is "cave bear"

Cave \Cave\ (k[=a]v), n. [F. cave, L. cavus hollow, whence cavea cavity. Cf. Cage.]

1. A hollow place in the earth, either natural or artificial; a subterraneous cavity; a cavern; a den.

2. Any hollow place, or part; a cavity. [Obs.] ``The cave of the ear.''
   --Bacon.

3. (Eng. Politics) A coalition or group of seceders from a political party, as from the Liberal party in England in 1866. See Adullam, Cave of, in the Dictionary of Noted Names in Fiction.

   Cave bear (Zo["o]l.), a very large fossil bear ( Ursus spel[ae]us) similar to the grizzly bear, but large; common in European caves.

   Cave dweller, a savage of prehistoric times whose dwelling place was a cave.
   --Tylor.

   Cave hyena (Zo["o]l.), a fossil hyena found abundanty in British caves, now usually regarded as a large variety of the living African spotted hyena.

   Cave lion (Zo["o]l.), a fossil lion found in the caves of Europe, believed to be a large variety of the African lion.

   Bone cave. See under Bone.

n. A large extinct species of bear, (taxlink Ursus spelaeus species noshow=1).

The cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) was a species of bear that lived in Europe during the Pleistocene and became extinct about 24,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum.

Both the name "cave" and the scientific name spelaeus are because fossils of this species were mostly found in caves, showing that cave bears may have spent more time in caves than the brown bear, which uses caves only for hibernation. Consequently, in the course of time, whole layers of bones, almost entire skeletons, were found in many caves.