Paleontologists in Bulgaria found the remains of a fossilized panda that lived in Europe six million years ago.
EureAlert says that scientists have proven that these fossils found in the 1970s belong to the panda, probably the last in Europe.
And, he added, scientists named these fossilized panda remains Agriarctos nikolov, in honor of paleontologist Ivan Nikolov, who compiled a catalog of the upper jaw teeth and canine of this species because they were used by animal to eat meat.
Professor Nikolai Spasov said, “There was a handwritten, unclear label, and it took more than a year to determine the location and age of this animal. We then spent a long time trying to determine if this unknown fossil animal was a giant panda.”
It turns out that Agriarctos nikolovi is not a direct ancestor of the modern panda, but a close relative. It fed on those plants, and its teeth were not strong enough to confirm that it was eating bamboo. But perhaps the animal lived in forests and swamps and became extinct due to climate change.
Source: RIA Novosti
Source: Arabic RT
