Body mass evolution of the Quaternary giant panda coincides with climate change of southern China

Qigao Jiangzuo; Deyuan Wang; Chunming Zhang; Jean Bottazzi; Guangxian Kuang; Shijie Li; Jiao Fu; Haiqian Hu; Haowen Tong; Bei Zhang; Muhammad Ilyas; Zehui Chen; Shan Huang; Shiqi Wang; Yuan Wang; Jinyi Liu

doi:10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2024.100096

The Innovation Geoscience > 2024 Vol. 2 > No. 4 > 100096

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Body mass evolution of the Quaternary giant panda coincides with climate change of southern China

1.
Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
2.
Guizhou Institute of Mountain Resources, Guiyang 550001, China
3.
China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP), Dujiangyan 611830, China
4.
Shuanghe Cave National Geopark Management Office, Suiyang 563300, China
5.
National Natural History Museum of China, Beijing 100050, China
6.
These authors contribute equally to the manuscript

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Corresponding author: shijieli@ivpp.ac.cn
Received Date: November 11, 2023

Accepted Date: September 13, 2024

Published Online: October 10, 2024

The Innovation Geoscience 2(4), https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2024.100096 | Cite this article

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1. Comprehensive model comparisons confirm the m1 as a reliable body size indicator in Quaternary giant pandas.
  
  The body mass of Quaternary giant pandas first increased, then decreased, reaching its peak around 0.3 Ma.
  
  Quaternary giant panda body mass evolution was shaped by morphology and paleoclimate changes.

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ABSTRACT

The trend of giant panda (Ailuropoda, Ursidae) body size evolution during the Quaternary has long been observed primarily through dental size analysis. However, exact body mass estimations have been lacking, whereas the dental size is generally viewed as a poor index for body mass estimation. In this study, we assess the accuracy of body mass prediction based on dentition using data from extensive cranial, dental, and postcranial fossil remains recovered in the Shuanghe Cave, Guizhou, southwestern China. Our results support a high degree of accuracy in body mass estimation based on m1 length, likely due to the relatively stable proportion of this tooth to the whole body in the Quaternary Ailuropoda. Our analyses of the body mass evolution of giant pandas since the earliest Pleistocene reveal rapid growth in body mass from A. microta to A. melanoleuca in the Early Pleistocene. This was followed by an initial increase and subsequent decrease in body mass, leading to the modern form since the Middle Pleistocene. The initial period of rapid growth is likely driven by the increasing feeding efficiency on bamboo, facilitating larger body sizes. In contrast, the later fluctuation in body mass coincides with climatic and monsoon change in the Middle and Late Pleistocene, directly impacting bamboo availability. The body mass evolution of the giant panda offers insights into its historical adaptation, highlighting the correlation of evolution and paleoclimatic change during the Quaternary.
- Pleistocene /
- Ailuropoda /
- linear model /
- paleoecology

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Jiangzuo Q., Wang D., Zhang C., et al., (2024). Body mass evolution of the Quaternary giant panda coincides with climate change of southern China. The Innovation Geoscience 2(4): 100096. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2024.100096

Jiangzuo Q., Wang D., Zhang C., et al., (2024). Body mass evolution of the Quaternary giant panda coincides with climate change of southern China. The Innovation Geoscience 2(4): 100096. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2024.100096

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Body mass evolution of the Quaternary giant panda coincides with climate change of southern China

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