The giant pandas, which are admired by the whole world with their iconic black and white fur and cuteness, continue their lives on the land of China today. While it is known that this species has existed in China for many years and is special to these lands, a surprising news has come from the scientific world.
Fossil panda teeth found in north-west Bulgaria reveal that giant pandas also once existed on European soil. It was announced that this new species, which is thought to be a relative of the panda species living in China, feeds on softer plants, not hard plants such as bamboo, unlike those in China.
Here comes the European giant panda:
According to research published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, the European giant panda species did not descend from the same ancestors as the Chinese pandas. However, it was stated that both species came from two close ancestors. It was shared that the ancestor of European pandas may have lived in eastern Europe about 6 million years ago. Sharing details about the size of the species, the researchers explained that European giant pandas may have been almost the same size as today’s pandas, or even slightly smaller.
- This is today’s panda.
In addition to all this, the fossil tooth proved the assumption that pandas were carnivores millions of years ago. While the discovered species is known to feed on soft grasses, it is certain that the ancestor of the species was carnivorous due to its tooth structure. The evolution of pandas to herbivory was stated as their turn to grass due to nutritional competition with other carnivores.
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