The origin of pandas (who are the ancestors of pandas)

In 1942, the lower right gum of a carnivore with a third premolar to a second molar was discovered in the swamp facies strata of the Hatvan site in the Panno Basin, Hungary. M. Kretzoi analyzed and studied this fossil specimen and believed that the central cusp of its lower premolars was thin, and the accessory cusps in front and behind the central cusp were strong; the lower molars at the back were short and wide. , the tooth tips at the front are thicker, and the tooth tips at the back are thinner, and are close to each other. Crezzo established a new genus and species based on these traits, called Agriarctos gaali.

After Crezzo's research article was published, it aroused great interest in the zoology and paleontology circles. Many scholars have suggested that Geshijiao Panda's dental characteristics are similar to those of pandas, and it should be classified as an early representative of the panda species, because the Geshijiao Panda's geological age is the late Miocene, about 7 million years ago.

Since then, the Geshi suburban panda has been regarded as the ancestor of the East Asian panda, and the pandas distributed in mainland China have become the "Chinese-European species."

As time goes by, researchers’ theory of “Chinese-European race” seems to have become a foregone conclusion. Although there are different voices, for example Mr. Pei Wenzhong, the discoverer of the small species of panda, once said (orally exchanged opinions with the author) that it remains to be studied whether the ancestors of Chinese pandas came from Europe, because there is too little information about Geshi suburban pandas and the evidence Inadequate and unconvincing.

The mystery of the origin of the panda was not revealed by Chinese scientists until the 1980s. They discovered the fossils of Lufeng E. panda and Yuanmou E. panda in the late Miocene (about 8 million years ago) swamp facies strata of Lufeng Basin and Yuanmou Basin in Yunnan respectively.

These new discoveries put an end to the long-suspected issue of the origin of the panda.

It can now be said that pandas originated, grew and expanded in the land of China, and are an authentic Chinese species.

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