Dwarf Panda
The extinct Dwarf Panda (Ailuropoda minor) came in at roughly half the size of today’s Giant Panda. The Dwarf Panda reached lengths of 3 feet. Even though the Dwarf Panda has been extinct for a long time, their size wasn’t really known until a skull was discovered in China in 2007.
Dwarf Panda Food
The Dwarf Panda, like the Giant Panda today, ate bamboo shoots as it’s primary food source. Fossilized teeth show wear patterns and the skull shows muscle markings indicating that the Dwarf Panda was a very heavy chewer, required for eating bamboo.
Dwarf Panda Classification
| - Kingdom: Animalia |
| - Phylum: Chordata |
| - Class: Mammalia |
| - Order: Carnivora |
| - Family: Ursidae |
| - Genus: Ailuropoda |
| - Species: Ailuropoda minor |