Ailurarctos

Ailurarctos ("cat bear") is an extinct genus of panda from the Late Miocene of China, some 8 million years ago.^[1][2][3][4]

Ailurarctos Temporal range: Late Miocene
Paleoart of two Ailurarctos
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Caniformia
Family:	Ursidae
Tribe:	Ailuropodini
Genus:	†Ailurarctos Qi et al., 1989
Type species
†Ailurarctos lufengensis Qi et al., 1989
Species
†A. lufengensis Qi et al., 1989 †A. yuanmouenensis Zong, 1997

Ailurarctos left radial sesamoid fossil.

Different teeth structures in the Ailuropoda lineage indicate a mosaic evolution during the past 2 million years.^[5] Like modern giant pandas, Ailurarctos had a false thumb that allowed it to grip bamboo, suggesting that the panda's specialized bamboo diet goes back to as early as 6 to 7 million years ago.^[6]