On December 6, the reporter learned from the Institute of Mountain Resources of Guizhou Academy of Sciences that the researchers of the institute and foreign researchers had found fossils of giant panda radial seed bones (pseudo-thumbs) during a joint scientific expedition to Shuanghe Cave. The discovery suggests that giant pandas evolved nearly the same "pseudo-thumbs" as living pandas at least 102,000 years ago.
Shuanghe Cave is located in Wenquan Town, Suiyang County, Zunyi City, Guizhou Province, with a proven length of more than 300 kilometers, it is the longest cave in Asia, the fourth longest cave in the world, and the longest dolomite cave in the world.
Its internal structure is complex, with water caves and dry caves coexisting, and 78 cave openings are connected to each other, which can provide a suitable cave environment for giant pandas to live. It is reported that since the 1980s, the Guizhou Academy of Sciences has begun to conduct scientific research on the cave. A few years ago, researchers from the Mountain Research Institute of Guizhou Academy of Sciences and researchers from France, Italy and other countries found 2 complete giant panda skeleton fossils in the joint scientific expedition of Shuanghe Cave, and found "pseudo-thumb" fossils from them.
After measurement, its size is almost the same as that of the living giant panda. Recently, the British SCI journal "Historical Biology" published relevant scientific research results. As of now, nearly 30 giant panda fossils have been found in Shuanghe Cave. via Guizhou Daily
Source: Colorful Guizhou Network