Ailuropoda wulingshanensis

Ailuropoda wulingshanensis; Temporal range: Early Pleistocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Ursidae
Genus:	Ailuropoda
Species:	A. wulingshanensis
Binomial name
	Ailuropoda wulingshanensis; (Wang et al., 1982)

Last updated October 03, 2025

Ailuropoda wulingshanensis is an extinct species of bear belonging to the giant panda ( Ailuropoda ) lineage that existed during the Early Pleistocene. It succeeded the earlier Ailuropoda microta, and in turn was succeeded by the later Ailuropoda baconi.

Distribution

Ailuropoda wulingshanensis is known only from South China. It is best represented at Longgu Cave in Jianshi, Hubei,^[1] and its fossils have also been recovered from Bailong Cave.^[2] The species existed during the Early Pleistocene, around 1.8-1.2 million years ago.^[3]

Description

Ailuropoda wulingshanensis was considerably smaller than the living giant panda, with an estimated average body mass of approximately 70–90 kilograms (150–200 lb) for individuals from Longgu Cave.^[4]Ailuropoda wulingshanensis is distinguished from the earlier Ailuropoda microta by its larger size and more complex cuspation of premolars, and from its successor Ailuropoda baconi by its smaller size and less developed premolar cuspation.^[1]

Palaeoecology

A. wulingshanensis had the lowest δ¹³C enamel values of the entire Longgu Cave fauna, suggesting a diet extremely heavy in C₃ plants.^[5] Other animals found in contemporaneous deposits include the giant ape Gigantopithecus, orangutans (Pongo) the large tapir Tapirus sinensis , the elephant relative Stegodon , the gomphothere Sinomastodon , the chevrotain Dorcabune, the bovids Megalovis and Bibos , and the archaic dhole Cuon antiquus .^[3]

Taxonomy

Ailuropoda wulingshanensis is suggested to be part of a potential succession of chronospecies, increasing in size from its ancestor Ailuropoda microta to Ailuropoda wulingshanensis and again to its descendant Ailuropoda baconi, before declining to Ailuropoda melanoleuca.^[1]

References

1 2 3 Jin, Changzhu; Ciochon, Russell L.; Dong, Wei; Hunt, Robert M.; Liu, Jinyi; Jaeger, Marc; Zhu, Qizhi (26 June 2007). "The first skull of the earliest giant panda". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America . 104 (26): 10932–10937. Bibcode:2007PNAS..10410932J. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0704198104 . ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 1904166 . PMID 17578912.
↑ Liu, Xuebin; Shen, Guanjun; Tu, Hua; Lu, Chengqiu; Granger, Darryl E. (2 December 2015). "Initial 26Al/10Be burial dating of the hominin site Bailong Cave in Hubei Province, central China" . Quaternary International . The Jaramillo Subchron and the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition in continental records from a multidisciplinary perspective. 389: 235–240. Bibcode:2015QuInt.389..235L. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2014.10.028. ISSN 1040-6182.
1 2 Jin, Changzhu; Wang, Yuan; Deng, Chenglong; Harrison, Terry; Qin, Dagong; Pan, Wenshi; Zhang, Yingqi; Zhu, Min; Yan, Yaling (December 2014). "Chronological sequence of the early Pleistocene Gigantopithecus faunas from cave sites in the Chongzuo, Zuojiang River area, South China". Quaternary International. 354: 4–14. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2013.12.051.
↑ Jiangzuo, Qigao; Wang, Deyuan; Zhang, Chunming; Bottazzi, Jean; Kuang, Guangxian; Li, Shijie; Fu, Jiao; Hu, Haiqian; Tong, Haowen; Zhang, Bei; Ilyas, Muhammad; Chen, Zehui; Huang, Shan; Wang, Shiqi; Wang, Yuan (2024-10-10). "Body mass evolution of the Quaternary giant panda coincides with climate change of southern China". The Innovation Geoscience. 2 (4): 100096–7. doi:10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2024.100096. ISSN 2959-8753.
↑ Jiang, Qu-Yi; Zhao, Ling-Xia; Hu, Yao-Wu (20 April 2020). "Isotopic (C, O) variations of fossil enamel bioapatite caused by different preparation and measurement protocols: a case study of Gigantopithecus fauna". Vertebrata PalAsiatica . 58 (2). doi:10.19615/j.cnki.1000-3118.200109. ISSN 2096-9899. Archived from the original on 18 July 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025– via Vertebrata PalAsiatica.

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[EarliestBambooBearSkull-1] 1 2 3 Jin, Changzhu; Ciochon, Russell L.; Dong, Wei; Hunt, Robert M.; Liu, Jinyi; Jaeger, Marc; Zhu, Qizhi (26 June 2007). "The first skull of the earliest giant panda". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America . 104 (26): 10932–10937. Bibcode:2007PNAS..10410932J. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0704198104 . ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 1904166 . PMID 17578912.

[2] Liu, Xuebin; Shen, Guanjun; Tu, Hua; Lu, Chengqiu; Granger, Darryl E. (2 December 2015). "Initial 26Al/10Be burial dating of the hominin site Bailong Cave in Hubei Province, central China" . Quaternary International . The Jaramillo Subchron and the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition in continental records from a multidisciplinary perspective. 389: 235–240. Bibcode:2015QuInt.389..235L. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2014.10.028. ISSN 1040-6182.

[:0-3] 1 2 Jin, Changzhu; Wang, Yuan; Deng, Chenglong; Harrison, Terry; Qin, Dagong; Pan, Wenshi; Zhang, Yingqi; Zhu, Min; Yan, Yaling (December 2014). "Chronological sequence of the early Pleistocene Gigantopithecus faunas from cave sites in the Chongzuo, Zuojiang River area, South China". Quaternary International. 354: 4–14. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2013.12.051.

[4] Jiangzuo, Qigao; Wang, Deyuan; Zhang, Chunming; Bottazzi, Jean; Kuang, Guangxian; Li, Shijie; Fu, Jiao; Hu, Haiqian; Tong, Haowen; Zhang, Bei; Ilyas, Muhammad; Chen, Zehui; Huang, Shan; Wang, Shiqi; Wang, Yuan (2024-10-10). "Body mass evolution of the Quaternary giant panda coincides with climate change of southern China". The Innovation Geoscience. 2 (4): 100096–7. doi:10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2024.100096. ISSN 2959-8753.

[5] Jiang, Qu-Yi; Zhao, Ling-Xia; Hu, Yao-Wu (20 April 2020). "Isotopic (C, O) variations of fossil enamel bioapatite caused by different preparation and measurement protocols: a case study of Gigantopithecus fauna". Vertebrata PalAsiatica . 58 (2). doi:10.19615/j.cnki.1000-3118.200109. ISSN 2096-9899. Archived from the original on 18 July 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025– via Vertebrata PalAsiatica.

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