A PAIR of 11-million-year-old teeth discovered in northern Spain may represent the earliest trace yet found of the giant panda鈥檚 line.
Juan Abella of Spain鈥檚 National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid and his colleagues, who examined the teeth, say that they belong to the Ailuropodinae 鈥� a bear subfamily of which the giant panda is the only survivor.
The ancient species, Agriarctos beatrix, may have shared the panda鈥檚 distinctive hairdo. Although it is not obvious in some existing bear species, they generally have a similar pattern of coloration. 鈥淢ost are dark, with light patches mainly on the chest and around the eyes,鈥� Abella says ().
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