The giant panda, which belongs to the order Carnivora, is different from its brothers. It has many "stunt skills" that allow it to adapt to a life of eating bamboo . Of these stunts, the giant panda's extra "thumb" is arguably the most famous but also the most mysterious. In addition to the normal five fingers on the forelimbs of most mammals, giant pandas also have a strongly enlarged wrist bone, the radial sesamoid bone, which acts as a sixth finger and forms an opposable "thumb" for grasping bamboo.
Recently, the scientific research team of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with colleagues, published a paper on the evolution of the panda's sixth finger, the "pseudo-thumb", in the international journal "Scientific Reports". The key pseudo-thumb and molar fossils of the primitive panda came from the scientific excavation of the late Miocene site of Shuitangba jointly organized by the Institute of Paleovertebra led by Deng Tao and Ji Xueping, the Yunnan Provincial Institute of Archeology, and the Zhaotong Municipal Government in 2015. Research results show that Eo-panda has the earliest enlarged radial sesamoid bone, which has formed the "thumb" function of the opposite grip. However, the panda's "thumb" has not increased further since the late Miocene, because it must not only grasp bamboo but also take into account the load-bearing function of walking in a plantar style, and cannot favor either side. Limitations in weight sharing may be the main reason why the panda's pseudo-thumb never evolved into a full finger, but this rudimentary "thumb" suggests that the giant panda's habit of exclusively eating bamboo originated at least 7 to 6 million years ago. .
△ Panda ecological restoration in Zhaotong Reservoir Dam, Yunnan The right individual shows the pseudo-thumb grasping function, and the left individual shows the walking posture
△ The giant panda grasps and chews bamboo
Source: CCTV News Client
Source: Jinan Economic Broadcasting FM90. 9
