The giant panda,also known as the panda bear or simply panda,is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its white coat with black patches around the eyes,ears,legs and shoulders. Its body is rotund;adult individuals weigh 100 to 115 kg and are typically 1.2 to 1.9 m long. It is sexually dimorphic,with males being typically 10 to 20% larger than females. A thumb is visible on its forepaw,which helps in holding bamboo in place for feeding. It has large molar teeth and expanded temporal fossa to meet its dietary requirements. It can digest starch and is mostly herbivorous with a diet consisting almost entirely of bamboo and bamboo shoots.
The giant panda is a bear from the family Ursidae.
The red panda,also known as the lesser panda,is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs,white-lined ears,a mostly white muzzle and a ringed tail. Its head-to-body length is 51–63.5 cm (20.1–25.0 in) with a 28–48.5 cm (11.0–19.1 in) tail,and it weighs between 3.2 and 15 kg. It is well adapted to climbing due to its flexible joints and curved semi-retractile claws.
In anatomy,a sesamoid bone is a bone embedded within a tendon or a muscle. Its name is derived from the Greek word for 'sesame seed',indicating the small size of most sesamoids. Often,these bones form in response to strain,or can be present as a normal variant. The patella is the largest sesamoid bone in the body. Sesamoids act like pulleys,providing a smooth surface for tendons to slide over,increasing the tendon's ability to transmit muscular forces.
Ailuropoda is the only extant genus in the ursid (bear) subfamily Ailuropodinae. It contains one living and one or more fossil species of panda.
Ailuridae is a family in the mammal order Carnivora. The family consists of the red panda and its extinct relatives.
The Qinling or Qin Mountains,formerly known as the Nanshan,are a major east–west mountain range in southern Shaanxi Province,China. The mountains mark the divide between the drainage basins of the Yangtze and Yellow River systems,providing a natural boundary between North and South China and support a huge variety of plant and wildlife,some of which is found nowhere else on earth.
Ailuropodinae is a subfamily of Ursidae that contains only one extant species,the giant panda of China. The fossil record of this group has shown that various species of pandas were more widespread across the Holarctic,with species found in places such as Europe,much of Asia,North America and even Africa. The earliest pandas were not unlike other modern bear species in that they had an omnivorous diet but by around 2.4 million years ago,pandas have evolved to be more herbivorous.
Changqing National Nature Reserve is located near Huayang Village in the Qin Mountains of Shaanxi province of China.
The golden snub-nosed monkey is an Old World monkey in the subfamily Colobinae. It is endemic to a small area in temperate,mountainous forests of central and Southwest China. They inhabit these mountainous forests of Southwestern China at elevations of 1,500–3,400 m (4,900–11,200 ft) above sea level. The Chinese name is Sichuan golden hair monkey (四川金丝猴). It is also widely referred to as the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey. Of the three species of snub-nosed monkeys in China,the golden snub-nosed monkey is the most widely distributed throughout China.
Ailurarctos is an extinct genus of panda from the Late Miocene of China,some 8 million years ago.
Foping Nature Reserve in Shaanxi Province,China,is a nature reserve and national park situated in the Qinling Mountains. The Nature Reserve covers 350 km2 (140 sq mi) and is under the leadership of the Ministry of Forestry. Foping Nature Reserve is girdled by other protected areas:It is bordered in the east by the Long-caoping Forest Farm;in the west it is flanked by the Changqing Nature Reserve;Zhouzhi Nature Reserve,the stronghold of the Golden Monkey,and Laoxiancheng Nature Reserve are situated to the north. The Foping Reserve covers 29,240 hectares of rugged mountain terrain and is home to a stable panda population. Elevations range from 1,080 to 2,094 m with warm summers and cold winters. 950–1,200 mm of rain falls mostly from July to September,with snow at higher elevations. Forested lands dominate the reserve with a mix of conifers and broadleaf deciduous trees.
Kretzoiarctos is an extinct bear genus from the European Miocene. It consists of Kretzoiarctos beatrix,an ancestor of the extant giant panda.
Ailuropoda baconi is an extinct panda known from cave deposits in South China,Laos,Vietnam,Myanmar,and Thailand from the Late Pleistocene,750,000 years ago,and was preceded by A. wulingshanensis and A. microta as an ancestor of the giant panda. Very little is known about this animal;however,its latest fossils have been dated to the Late Pleistocene.
Er Shun is a female giant panda,born at the Chongqing Zoo.
The giant panda(Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is a bear native to south central China.
Fargesia robusta is a species of clumping bamboo in the family Poaceae,native to Sichuan,China. Typically 3 m (10 ft) but reaching 4.5 m (15 ft),and with a narrow growth form,it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit as an ornamental. A number of cultivars are commercially available,including 'Campbell','Pingwu','Wenchuan',and 'Wolong'.
Baylisascaris schroederi is a species of roundworm in the family Ascarididae. It occurs in China and is a parasite of giant pandas. Many wild giant pandas are infected with this parasite.
Ailuropoda wulingshanensis is an extinct species of panda that existed during the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene.
