Bearskin or wolfskin?

[Gaius]

Aren't brown bears a little smaller than grizzlies, and without the characteristic hump? I'd thought that they were a specific subtype, rather than just 2 names for the same bear.

Grizzly is just a common name to identify some regional populations of brown bear; this is why the latin names exists: all Eurasiatic and North American brown bear are included into the same species: Ursus arctos. Some refers to Grizzlies as a subespecies: U. arctos horribilis. It is not clear for the biologists the subspecific boundary, i do not know if this taxonomic adscription has been made based on molecular analysis or it is only based on size (i, as biologist, do not trust much in the subspecific distinctions). In any case, not all North american bears are grizzlies, which i also think are far too big to be weared upon the helmet of the standard-bearer. But if you are able to find a North American brown bear fur that matches in size that of a European one, from a strictly biological sense there is no problem to be used. They are both the same, there is also variability in size and appearance into the European Brown bear: a Polish bear is somewhat different than a Spanish one, for example...

Valete