Ailuropodinae

Ailuropodinae
Temporal range: Early Miocene – present
Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Subfamily: Ailuropodinae
Grevé, 1894
Tribes and genera

Ailuropodinae is a subfamily of Ursidae that contains only one extant species, the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) 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.[1][2][3][4] 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.[5][6]

Systematics

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Ever since the giant panda was first described to science, they have been a source of taxonomic confusion, having been variously classified as a member of Procyonidae,[7][8]: 24 [9] Ursidae,[10][11][12] Ailuridae,[13] or even their own family Ailuropodidae.[14] Part of their similarities with the red panda is in particular the presence of a "thumb" and five fingers; the "thumb" – a modified sesamoid bone – that helps it to hold bamboo while eating.[15]

Recent genetic studies have shown that ailuropodines are indeed members of the bear family as they are not closely related to red pandas, which are placed in their own family Ailuridae.[16][17] Any similarities between ailuropodines and ailurids are likely due to convergent evolution as the fossil record has shown the "false thumb" has been required independently for different purposes.[18] The "false thumb" has been found in spectacled bears as well, suggesting that it is a plesiomorphic trait among bears that became lost in the Ursinae subfamily.[19]

Taxonomy

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The ailuropodines are divided into two tribes the extinct Agriotheriini and Ailuropodini; the following taxonomy below is after Abella et al. (2012):

  • Subfamily Ailuropodinae Grevé, 1894[20]
    • Tribe †Agriotheriini Kretzoi, 1929[21]
      • Agriotherium Wagner, 1837
        • Agriotherium africanum Hendey, 1972
        • Agriotherium gregoryi Frick, 1926
        • Agriotherium hendeyi Jiangzuo & Flynn, 2019
        • Agriotherium inexpetans Qiu et al., 1991
        • Agriotherium insigne Gervais, 1859
        • Agriotherium myanmarensis Ogino et al., 2011
        • Agriotherium palaeindicus Lydekker, 1878
        • Agriotherium sivalensis (Falconer & Cautley, 1836)
      • Huracan Jiangzuo et al., 2023
        • Huracan coffeyi (Dalquest, 1986)
        • Huracan qiui Jiangzhou et al., 2023
        • Huracan schneideri (Sellards, 1916)
        • Huracan? punjabensis (Lydekker, 1884) [Indarctos punjabensis (Lydekker, 1884)]
        • Huracan? roblesi (Morales & Aguirre, 1976) [Agriotherium roblesi Morales & Aguirre, 1976]
      • Indarctos Pilgrim, 1913
        • Indarctos anthracitis (Weithofer, 1888)
        • Indarctos arctoides (Deperet, 1895)
        • Indarctos atticus (Weithofer, 1888)
        • Indarctos bakalovi (Kovachev, 1988)
        • Indarctos lagrelli (Zdansky, 1924)
        • Indarctos nevadensis Macdonald, 1959[22]
        • Indarctos oregonensis Merriam et al., 1916
        • Indarctos salmontanus Pilgrim, 1913
        • Indarctos sinensis (Zdansky, 1924)
        • Indarctos vireti Villalta & Crusafont, 1943
        • Indarctos zdanskyi Qiu & Tedford, 2003[23]
      • ?†Miomaci de Bonis et al., 2017
        • Miomaci pannonicum de Bonis et al., 2017
    • Tribe Ailuropodini Grevé, 1894

References

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  1. ^ Ginsburg, Léonard, and Jorge Morales. "Hemicyoninae (Ursidae, Carnivora, Mammalia) and the related taxa from Early and Middle Miocene of Western Europe." Annales de paleontologie. Vol. 1. No. 84. 1998.
  2. ^ Montoya, P., L. Alcalá, and Jorge Morales. Indarctos (Ursidae, Mammalia) from the Spanish Turolian (Upper Miocene). Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, 2001.
  3. ^ Abella, J., Plinio Montoya, and J. Morales. "Una nueva especie de Agriarctos (Ailuropodinae, Ursidae, Carnivora) en la localidad de Nombrevilla 2 (Zaragoza, España)." Estudios Geológicos 67.2 (2011): 187-191.
  4. ^ Abella, Juan; Alba, David M.; Robles, Josep M.; Valenciano, Alberto; Rotgers, Cheyenn; Carmona, Raül; Montoya, Plinio; Morales, Jorge; O’Grady, Patrick (2012). "Kretzoiarctos gen. nov., the Oldest Member of the Giant Panda Clade". PLOS ONE. 7 (11): e48985. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...748985A. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0048985. PMC 3498366. PMID 23155439.
  5. ^ Jin, C; Ciochon, R. L.; Dong, W; Hunt Jr, R. M.; Liu, J; Jaeger, M; Zhu, Q (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. PMC 1904166. PMID 17578912.
  6. ^ Zhao, S; Zheng, P; Dong, S; Zhan, X; Wu, Q; Guo, X; Hu, Y; He, W; Zhang, S; Fan, W; Zhu, L; Li, D; Zhang, X; Chen, Q; Zhang, H; Zhang, Z; Jin, X; Zhang, J; Yang, H; Wang, J; Wang, J; Wei, F (2013). "Whole-genome sequencing of giant pandas provides insights into demographic history and local adaptation". Nature Genetics. 45 (1): 67–71. doi:10.1038/ng.2494. PMID 23242367. S2CID 1261505.
  7. ^ Lankester, E. Ray; Milne-Edwards, A. (September 1901). "On the Affinities of Æluropus melanoleucus". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 2nd Series: Zoology. 8 (6): 163–172. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1901.tb00505.x.
  8. ^ Gregory, William K. (8 August 1936). "On the phylogenetic relationships of the giant panda (Ailuropoda) to other arctoid Carnivora". American Museum Novitates (838). New York City: American Museum of Natural History: 1–29. hdl:2246/4138.
  9. ^ Welker, W. I.; Campos, G. B. (February 1963). "Physiological significance of sulci in somatic sensory cerebral cortex in mammals of the family procyonidae". The Journal of Comparative Neurology. 120 (1): 19–36. doi:10.1002/cne.901200103. ISSN 0021-9967. PMID 13999831. S2CID 33127965.
  10. ^ O'Brien, Stephen J.; Nash, William G.; Wildt, David E.; Bush, Mitchell E.; Benveniste, Raoul E. (September 1985). "A molecular solution to the riddle of the giant panda's phylogeny". Nature. 317 (6033): 140–144. Bibcode:1985Natur.317..140O. doi:10.1038/317140a0. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 4033795. S2CID 4352629.
  11. ^ O'Brien, S. J.; Eichelberger, M. A.; et al. (1984). "Constructing a molecular phylogeny of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)". Bongo. 10. Berlin: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Giant Panda: 175–182.
  12. ^ Pastor, J. F.; Barbosa, M.; de Paz, F. J. (February 2008). "Morphological study of the lingual papillae of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) by scanning electron microscopy". Journal of Anatomy. 212 (2): 99–105. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7580.2008.00850.x. ISSN 0021-8782. PMC 2408975. PMID 18254792.
  13. ^ Thenius, Von E. (18 February 1989). "Molekulare und., "adaptive" Evolution, Kladistik und Stammesgeschichte: Ergänzungen zu einer Arbeitshypothese" [Molecular and adaptive evolution, cladistics, and phylogeny: additions toward a working hypothesis]. Zeitschrift für Zoologische Systematik und Evolutionsforschung. 27 (2): 94–105. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0469.1989.tb00334.x.
  14. ^ Thenius, Von E. (1979). "Zur Systematischen und phylogenetischen Stellung des Bambusbären: Ailuropoda melanoleuca David (Carnivora, Mammalia)" [On the systematic and phylogenetic position of the bamboo bear: Ailuropoda melanoleuca David (Carnivora, Mammalia)]. Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde. 44 (1): 283–305. ISSN 0044-3468. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. ^ Morris, Paul; Susan F. Morris. "The Panda's Thumb". Athro Limited. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  16. ^ Peng, Rui, et al. "The complete mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic analysis of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)." Gene 397.1 (2007): 76-83.
  17. ^ Sato, Jun J., et al. "Deciphering and dating the red panda’s ancestry and early adaptive radiation of Musteloidea." Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 53.3 (2009): 907-922.
  18. ^ Salesa, Manuel J., et al. "Evidence of a false thumb in a fossil carnivore clarifies the evolution of pandas." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 103.2 (2006): 379-382.
  19. ^ Salesa, Manuel J., et al. "Anatomy of the “false thumb” of Tremarctos ornatus (Carnivora, Ursidae, Tremarctinae): phylogenetic and functional implications." (2006).
  20. ^ Abella, Juan; et al. (2012). "Kretzoiarctos gen. nov., the oldest member of the giant panda clade". PLOS ONE. 7 (11): e48985. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...748985A. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0048985. PMC 3498366. PMID 23155439.
  21. ^ Jiangzuo, Q.; Flynn, J. J.; Wang, S.; Hou, S.; Deng, T. (2023). "New fossil giant panda relatives (Ailuropodinae, Ursidae): a basal lineage of gigantic Mio-Pliocene cursorial carnivores". American Museum Novitates (3996): 1–71. doi:10.1206/3996.1. hdl:2246/7315. S2CID 257508340.
  22. ^ MacDonald, J. R. (1959). "The Middle Pliocene Mammalian Fauna from Smiths Valley, Nevada". Journal of Paleontology. 33 (5): 872–887. JSTOR 1300922.
  23. ^ Qiu, Zhan-Xiang; Tedford, R. H. (2003). "Shānxī bǎo dé yìndù xióngyīxīn zhǒng" 山西保德印度熊一新种 [A New Species of *Indarctos* from Baode, China] (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 41 (4): 278–288.
  24. ^ Kretzoi, M. (1942). "Zwei neue Agriotheriiden aus dem ungarischen Pannon". Földtani Közlöny. 72: 350–353.