The ancestors of giant pandas are very short

The giant panda in China (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is at least 1.5m high.

American anthropologist Russell Ciochon and his Chinese colleagues affirmed its ancestors were only 90cm tall after discovering in Guangxi province the fossil skull of the Ailuropoda microta, viewed as the most remote ancestor of the giant panda .

The distant ancestors of giant pandas live in China 2 million years ago. Its molars were once found but did not allow an accurate estimate of the height. Ailuropoda microta has a skull equal to half the giant panda's skull and its body is very similar to the present panda.

The skull analysis revealed that this is a bamboo-eating animal, similar to the current panda and the panda that separated from other bears about 3 million years ago.

Left photo: Panda Ailuropoda microta;
Right photo: The giant panda's skull now

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