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Newswise — Tracing the forested wetlands of Bulgaria some six million years ago, a new species of panda has been discovered by scientists who claim that it is currently the last known and “most developed” European giant panda. Excavated from the bowels of Bulgaria’s National Museum of Natural History, two tooth fossils originally discovered in the eastern European country in the late 1970s, provide new evidence of a sizable relative of the modern giant panda. Unlike today’s iconic black and white bears, they did not rely on pure bamboo. “Although not a direct ancestor of the modern genus of giant pandas, it is a close relative,” explains Museum Professor Nikolai Spassov, whose findings were published today in a peer-reviewed publication. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . “This discovery demonstrates how little we still know about the primeval realm and demonstrates also that historic discoveries in paleontology can yield unexpected results, ...

image: Reconstruction of A. nikolovi sp. Nov. from Bulgaria. Artwork by Velizar Simeonovski, Chicago. see again Credit: © Velizar Simeonovski, Chicago Tracing the forested wetlands of Bulgaria some six million years ago, a new species of panda has been discovered by scientists who say today is the last known and “most evolved” European giant panda. Excavated from the bowels of Bulgaria’s National Museum of Natural History, two tooth fossils originally discovered in the eastern European country in the late 1970s, provide new evidence of a sizable relative of the modern giant panda. Unlike today’s iconic black and white bears, they did not rely on pure bamboo. “Although not a direct ancestor of the modern genus of giant pandas, it is a close relative,” explains Museum Professor Nikolai Spassov, whose findings were published today in a peer-reviewed publication. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontolog...

China Eastern flight attendant in Brisbane. Before the pandemic there were nine mainland Chinese airlines flying Australian routes. Photo: Glenn Hunt Want to fly to Paris in mid-September for a three-week getaway to experience the wonders of late summer in Europe? From either Melbourne or Sydney, you can pick up an economy class airfare on a budget airline for around $2200 but fly on a major league airline and you can expect to pay between $3500-$5000. The plane ticket has gone through the roof. In July 2022 you pay for a long-distance economy class seat which almost gets you into premium economy before the pandemic. Premium economy seats? Expect to pay close to what the business costs in 2019. What happened? Rising fuel prices are part of the reason we pay more to fly to Europe, but another big factor is the lack of low price competition. As of May 2022, a total of 51 international airlines operate scheduled passenger services to Australia. That’s 10 less than ...

Artist’s interpretation of a new species of European panda. (Image credit: © Velizar Simeonovski, Chicago) (opens in a new tab) A pair of fossilized teeth in the museum’s collection was recently revealed when pandas last roamed Europe. When the researchers examined the teeth, which had been in storage for about 40 years, they found that the fossils belonged to an ancient European panda species that had never been seen before. The newly discovered species, which is a close relative of the modern giant panda, roamed the continent about 6 million years ago and was likely the last panda in Europe. The teeth – the upper canines and upper molars – were originally excavated in the late 1970s from a site in northwestern Bulgaria, but were eventually housed in the Bulgarian National Museum of Natural History in Sofia. The teeth were never properly cataloged, and as a result they were left untouched for decades. But when museum staff recently discovered an unusual t...

Across Europe, signs of distress multiply as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on: Food banks in Italy feed more people, German officials turn off air conditioning as they prepare plans to ration natural gas and restart coal plants. Key points: Just as Europe is recovering from the pandemic, its economic future looks uncertain as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues Meanwhile, high energy costs, fueled by the war, benefited the Kremlin and kept the ruble But in the long run, economists say, Russia will pay a heavy price for its war A giant utility is asking for a taxpayer bailout, and more to come. Dairy companies wonder how they are going to pasteurize milk. The euro has slumped to a 20-year low against the dollar, and recession predictions are on the rise. Those pressure points are signs of how the conflict — and the fact that the Kremlin is gradually suffocating the natural gas that keeps industry humming — is provoking an energy crisis in Europe and increasing the likelihood ...

An Adelaide couple on holiday in the Northern Territory said they had to get home by bus 48 hours after their Jetstar flight was canceled over the weekend. Key points: Therese Kenny spent 48 hours on the bus so she could go home after her flight was cancelled A Greyhound Australia spokesperson said there had been an increase in sales due to flight cancellations Jetstar said customers were offered rescheduled flights, but acknowledged availability was limited Therese Kenny and her husband George are on holiday in Darwin and will fly back to Adelaide on Saturday morning. But just five hours before their flight was due to depart, they were told it had been cancelled. Kenny told ABC Radio Adelaide the airline had offered his seat on another flight in about six days. The former Liberal ministerial staffer and state candidate said he also found one-way flights from Darwin to Adelaide on unspecified airlines cost $5,000 each. “We just weren’t in a position to do that, we could have...