ZHENGZHOU: Scientists announced on Friday that they have discovered a fossil
of a giant panda tooth in Central China the first indication that pandas used to
roam the area.
The giant panda tooth fossil was unearthed in June at the Lingjing historical
site in the city of Xuchang, Henan Province, said Huang Wanbo, a researcher with
the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and
Palaeoanthropology.
It took nearly two months of painstaking analysis to identify the fossil.
Huang, a prominent figure in giant panda research, said the tooth is almost
circular in shape and comes from the right side of the giant panda's lower jaw.
There is damage to the enamel on the crown of the tooth and on its surface.
"These protuberances cannot be found on the teeth of other bear species. They
were formed because the giant panda was gnawing on bamboo," Huang told Xinhua.
Experts are excited about the discovery, as they believe it proves giant
pandas roamed over a wide area about 12,000 to 128,000 years ago.
Scientists find giant panda tooth fossil
(China Daily)
Updated:
2006-09-02 07:00
ZHENGZHOU: Scientists announced on Friday that they have discovered a
fossil of a giant panda tooth in Central China the first indication that pandas
used to roam the area.
The giant panda tooth fossil was unearthed in June at the Lingjing historical
site in the city of Xuchang, Henan Province, said Huang Wanbo, a researcher with
the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and
Palaeoanthropology.
It took nearly two months of painstaking analysis to identify the fossil.
Huang, a prominent figure in giant panda research, said the tooth is almost
circular in shape and comes from the right side of the giant panda's lower jaw.
There is damage to the enamel on the crown of the tooth and on its surface.
"These protuberances cannot be found on the teeth of other bear species. They
were formed because the giant panda was gnawing on bamboo," Huang told Xinhua.
Experts are excited about the discovery, as they believe it proves giant
pandas roamed over a wide area about 12,000 to 128,000 years ago.
