Advanced Members of the Ailuridae (Lesser or Red Pandas - Subfamily Ailurinae)
Document Type
Book Contribution
Publication Date
1-1-2011
Description
This chapter deals with the advanced members of Ailuridae. A side from a few well-represented taxa such as Simocyon batalleri and Pristinailurus bristoli, the fossil record of the Ailuridae consists of mostly isolated teeth and fragmentary specimens. However, these two taxa are beginning to shed new light on this group of specialized carnivorans. The selection of the various dental characters appears to have been mosaic, with different teeth specializing at different rates (and with different focal zones). In addition, some forms specialized in hypercarnivory, while others were becoming adapted to hypocarnivory to varying degrees. It is quite likely that Simocyon's move to the trees may have directly led to the selection of features which allowed this group to exploit flowers and/or fruit (in addition to eating meat), and therefore hypocarnivory may have been a direct result of this change in lifestyle. Moreover, it appears that although both living "pandas" use their so-called "falsethumb" for feeding, each lineage acquired this unique trait via different pathways-one for feeding and one for climbing-making this one of the most fascinating examples of convergent evolution. Lastly, as demonstrated by Pristinailurus bristoli, not every member of this group remained arboreal, which may have reduced its ability to compete with other more generalized omnivores, and ultimately to the extinction of nearly every member of this group.
Citation Information
Wallace, Steven C.. 2011. Advanced Members of the Ailuridae (Lesser or Red Pandas - Subfamily Ailurinae). Red Panda: Biology and Conservation of the First Panda. 43-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-1-4377-7813-7.00004-5 ISBN: 9781437778137