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Ailuropoda fovealis skull
Ailuropoda is the only genus in the ursid (bear) subfamily Ailuropodinae. It contains one living and four fossil species of giant panda[1].
Only one species — Ailuropoda melanoleuca — currently exists; the other four species are prehistoric chronospecies. Despite its taxonomic classification as a carnivore, the giant panda has a diet that is primarily herbivorous, which consists almost exclusively of bamboo.
Giant pandas are descended from Ailurarctos, which lived during the late Miocene[1].
Classification
Other pandas
Formerly, the red, or lesser, panda (Ailurus fulgens) was considered closely related to giant pandas. It is not considered a bear, however, and is now classified as the sole living representative of a different carnivore family (Ailuridae).
References
