A combined team scientists from China and USA discovered what they called the first skull of earliest giant pandas which dated back to more than 2 million years ago. The new fossil panda skull, Ailuropoda microta (left in the picture) is revealed to be much smaller compared to today's giant pandas, Ailuropoda melanoleuca (right).
Unearthed from the Jinyin Cave in Guangxi, southern China, the fossil represents the first skull of the earliest giant pandas, Ailuropoda microta.
This so-called pygmy giant panda was half the size of its modern relatives and lived from about 2 million to 2.4 million years ago during the late Pliocene epoch in south China. There it roamed moist tropical forests alongside now-extinct creatures, such as the prehistoric elephant-like Stegodon, and the giant ape, Gigantopithecus, said study team member Russell Ciochon of the University of Iowa.
“This shows that pandas are probably quite an ancient lineage that goes way back maybe 5 million years or more into the past,” Ciochon told LiveScience. “So pandas have been behaving like pandas for a very long time.”
The skull and associated teeth showed features uniquely suited for bamboo-eating, matching those found in modern giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca).
Analysis of the teeth revealed the pygmy panda sported broad, flat teeth ideal for grinding tough bamboo along with small, pointy cusps for crushing the plant food. These dental adaptations were nearly identical to, though less complex than, modern-panda teeth, the scientists said.
