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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, even today.” The upper carnival teeth, an

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 Paleontology . “This discovery demonstrates ho