BEARS & PANDAS II

[darren.naish@port.ac.uk]

Let's try again... 

The Jaimster wrote.... 

------------------------- 
*Ailuropoda*, the giant panda, shares many of these  
features, as detailed, as a consequence to increased  
herbivory. Convergence is often strange, but it is harder to  
immitate molecules than morphology, perhaps. Use of an  
inner pisiform sesamoid as "thumb" is intriguing and  
suggests that the  greater panda was from smaller arboreal  
stock. Current use would not seem so great an immitation,  
but there it is nonetheless. 
------------------------- 

Not quite sure what you're getting at, but if you're implying  
that giant pandas and red pandas might be more closely  
related to each other than giant pandas are to bears, this idea  
is not thought likely by anyone that works on these animals.  
In other words, the ursid affinities of _Ailuropoda_ are now  
pretty much secure. See....

Flynn, J. J., Neff, N. A. & Tedford, R. H. 1988. Phylogeny  
of the Carnivora. In Benton, M. J. (ed) _Phylogeny and  
Classification of the Tetrapods, Vol. 2: Mammals_.  
Clarendon Press (Oxford), pp. 73-116.

Hunt, R. M. 1998. Ursidae. In Janis, C. M., Scott, K. M. &  
Jacobs, L. L. (eds) _Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of  
North America. Vol. 1: Terrestrial Carnivores, Ungulates  
and Ungulatelike Mammals. Cambridge Univ. Press, pp.  
174-195.

O'Brien, S. J. 1987. The ancestry of the giant panda.  
_Scientific America_ 257 (5), 82-87.

- ., Nash, W. G., Wildt, D. E., Bush, M. E. & Benveniste, R.  
E. 1985. A molecular solution to the riddle of the giant  
panda's phylogeny. _Nature_ 317, 140-144.

Tougard, C., Chaimanee, Y., Suteethorn, V.,  
Triamwichanon, S. & Jaeger, J.-J. 1996. Extension of the  
geographic distribution of the giant pandas (_Ailuropoda_)  
and search for the reasons for its progressive disappearance  
in southeast Asia during the latest Middle Pleistocene. _C.  
R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Serie II_ 323, 973-979.

Also Ward and Kynaston's excellent _Bears of the World_.

Giant pandas are not basal ursids (though they are probably  
more primitive than ursine bears [tremarctins and ursins]) if  
you accept that hemicyonines and amphicynodontines are  
ursids. No indication for small arboreal ancestors given that  
basal ursines, hemicyonines and amphicynodontines are  
predominantly terrestrial and mostly about labrador-sized.  
The smallest fossil giant pandas are apparently about the  
same size as the sun bear.

As for _Ailurus_, while it seems that ailurines and  
simocyonines are close kin, whether this group is closer to  
procyonids than to other members of the Ursida is still  
controversial. Some workers seem to favour the view that  
procyonids and mustelids are each other's closest relatives  
(forming the Mustelida) and that ailurids are the most basal  
ursidans. Incidentally, red pandas were present here in  
Britain during the Pleistocene. I saw some live ones  
recently, though they were in a zoo:)

Incidentally the list of talks for SVPCA has now arrived...  
loads of cool stuff, will report relevant titles time  
permitting.

--  
Darren Naish 
School of Earth & Environmental Sciences 
University of Portsmouth UK, PO1 3QL 

email: darren.naish@port.ac.uk 
tel: 023 92846045 

Darren Naish
School of Earth & Environmental Sciences
University of Portsmouth
Burnaby Building
Burnaby Road                           email: 
darren.naish@port.ac.uk
Portsmouth UK                          tel: 023 92846045                   
PO1 3QL                                www.palaeobiology.co.uk