After three decades of extensive testing, during most of which the red panda was contentiously placed within the Procyonidae family, recent genetic research has indicated a more isolated phylogenetic position for the red panda by placing it in a family of its own ( Ailuridae ). This apparent coincidence has been described as one of the most dramatic cases of evolutionary convergence observed amongst vertebrates.Īs such, the exact evolutionary history and taxonomic classification of the enigmatic red panda has long baffled scientists, as physiological, ecological and genetic similarities to species within the Ursidae (polar bears, black bears, brown bears, giant pandas) Procyonidae (racoons, ringtails, cacomistles, coatis), Mephitidae (skunks), and Mustelidae (weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets) groups have resulted in several differing opinions within the scientific community. The herbivorous diet of the modern red panda led to the digit developing a secondary ability of bamboo manipulation (known as “preadaptation”). Whilst the two fossils were found to possess the additional digit, scientists determined that the false thumb had evolved in each species for different purposes: as Ailurarctos shifted from a carnivorous diet to one consisting primarily of bamboo, the extra appendage aided with bamboo manipulation Simocyon batalleri, on the other hand, remained a carnivorous mammal and so the additional digit is believed to have evolved for arboreal locomotion. Although once believed to substantiate a close relationship between the two species, the discovery of a Miocene red panda relative ( Simocyon batalleri ) and a Late Miocene giant panda relative ( Ailurarctos ) suggested otherwise.
Aside from their appetite for bamboo, giant and red pandas share similar specialisations in the forefoot, male genitalia and masticatory system, and both species possess a “false thumb”: a carpal bone, or radial sesamoid, acting as an opposable sixth digit on the animal’s wrist. The word “panda” is thought to have been derived from the Nepalese words “nigalya ponya”, meaning “bamboo eater”, and was subsequently ascribed to the giant panda due to certain morphological similarities it shared with the red panda. Taxonomyĭespite common assumptions to the contrary, the red panda was actually discovered 50 years prior to the giant panda. Species: Ailurus fulgens (Himalayan Red Panda), Ailurus styani (Chinese Red Panda)Ī red panda resting on a tree branch (photograph by Jessica Weiller for Unsplash).
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