Editing Giant panda (section)

==Taxonomy==
For many decades, the precise [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomic]] classification of the giant panda was under debate because it shares characteristics with both bears and [[raccoon]]s.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica Online">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/441032/giant-panda |title=giant panda (mammal) |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |access-date=23 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515123427/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/441032/giant-panda |archive-date=15 May 2013}}</ref> In 1985, [[genetics#molecular|molecular studies]] indicated that the giant panda is a true bear, part of the family Ursidae.<ref name="Lindburg, Donald G.; Baragona, Karen 2004">{{cite book |author1=Lindburg, D. G. |author2=Baragona, K. |title=Giant Pandas: Biology and Conservation |publisher=University of California Press|year=2004|isbn=0-520-23867-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=O'Brien, S.J. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Nash, W.G. |author3=Wildt, D.E. |author4=Bush, M.E. |author5=Benveniste, R.E. |year=1985 |title=A molecular solution to the riddle of the giant panda's phylogeny |journal=Nature |volume=317 |issue=6033 |pages=140–144 |doi=10.1038/317140a0 |pmid=4033795 |bibcode=1985Natur.317..140O |s2cid=4352629}}</ref> These studies show it diverged about {{mya|19}} from the [[common ancestor]] of the [[Ursidae]];<ref name=krause2008>{{Cite journal |last1=Krause |first1=J. |name-list-style=amp |last2=Unger |first2=T. |last3=Noçon |first3=A. |last4=Malaspinas |first4=A. |last5=Kolokotronis |first5=S. |last6=Stiller |first6=M. |last7=Soibelzon |first7=L. |last8=Spriggs |first8=H. |last9=Dear |first9=P. H. |last10=Briggs |first10=A. W. |last11=Bray |first11=S. C. E. |last12=O'Brien |first12=S. J. |last13=Rabeder |first13=G. |last14=Matheus |first14=P. |last15=Cooper |first15=A. |last16=Slatkin |first16=M. |last17=Pääbo |first17=S. |last18=Hofreiter |first18=M. |title=Mitochondrial genomes reveal an explosive radiation of extinct and extant bears near the Miocene-Pliocene boundary |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume=8 |issue=220 |page=220 |year=2008 |pmid=18662376 |pmc=2518930 |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-8-220 |bibcode=2008BMCEE...8..220K |doi-access=free}}</ref> it is the most [[basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] member of this family and equidistant from all other extant bear species.<ref name=krause2008/><ref name=Yu2007>{{cite journal |last1=Yu |first1=L. |last2=Li |first2=Y.-W. |last3=Ryder |first3=O. A. |last4=Zhang |first4=Y.-P. |title=Analysis of complete mitochondrial genome sequences increases phylogenetic resolution of bears (Ursidae), a mammalian family that experienced rapid speciation |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |date=2007 |volume=7 |issue=198 |page=198 |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-7-198 |pmid=17956639 |pmc=2151078 |bibcode=2007BMCEE...7..198Y |doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Subspecies===
[[File:Quinlingpandabearr.jpg|thumb|The [[Qinling panda]] has a light brown-and-white pattern]]
Two subspecies of giant panda have been recognized on the basis of distinct cranial measurements, colour patterns, and [[population genetics]].{{sfn|Wan|Wu|Fang|2005}}
* The [[nominate subspecies]], ''A. m. melanoleuca'', consists of most extant populations of the giant panda. These animals are principally found in [[Sichuan]] and display the typical stark black and white contrasting colours.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zhao |first1=Y. |last2=Chen |first2=Y. |last3=Zheng |first3=Y. |last4=Ma |first4=Q. |last5=Jiang |first5=Y. |date=2020 |title=Quantifying the heavy metal risks from anthropogenic contributions in Sichuan panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca melanoleuca'') habitat |journal=Science of the Total Environment |volume=745 |pages=140941 |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140941 |pmid=32731070 |bibcode=2020ScTEn.74540941Z}}</ref>
* The [[Qinling panda]], ''A. m. qinlingensis'',<ref>{{cite book|last=Hammond|first=P. |title=The Atlas of Endangered Animals: Wildlife Under Threat Around the World|year=2010|publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=978-0-7614-7872-0 |page=58 |url=https://archive.org/details/atlasofendangere0000hamm/page/58}}</ref> is restricted to the [[Qinling Mountains]] in Shaanxi at elevations of {{cvt|1300|–|3000|m}}. The typical black and white pattern of Sichuan giant pandas is replaced with a light brown and white pattern.{{sfn|Wan|Wu|Fang|2005}} The skull of ''A. m. qinlingensis'' is smaller than its relatives, and it has larger molars.<ref name=Wan>{{cite journal |author1=Wan, Q.H. |author2=Hua Wu|author3=Fang, S.-G. |year=2005 |title=A new subspecies of giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca'') from Shaanxi, China |journal=[[Journal of Mammalogy]] |volume=86 |issue=2 |pages=397–402 |jstor=4094359 |doi=10.1644/BRB-226.1 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

A detailed study of the giant panda's genetic history from 2012 confirms that the separation of the Qinling population occurred about 300,000 years ago, and reveals that the non-Qinling population further diverged into two groups, named the [[Minshan]] and the [[Qionglai Mountains|Qionglai]]-[[Daxiangling]]-[[Xiaoxiangling]]-[[Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture|Liangshan]] group respectively, about 2,800 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zhao |first1=S. |last2=Zheng |first2=P. |last3=Dong |first3=S. |last4=Zhan |first4=X. |last5=Wu |first5=Q. |last6=Guo |first6=X. |last7=Hu |first7=Y. |last8=He |first8=W. |last9=Zhang |first9=S. |last10=Fan |first10=W. |last11=Zhu |first11=L. |last12=Li |first12=D. |last13=Zhang |first13=X. |last14=Chen |first14=Q. |last15=Zhang |first15=H. |date=2013 |title=Whole-genome sequencing of giant pandas provides insights into demographic history and local adaptation |journal=Nature Genetics |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=67–71 |doi=10.1038/ng.2494 |pmid=23242367}}</ref>

===Phylogeny===
Of the eight extant species in the bear family Ursidae, the giant panda's lineage branched off the earliest.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yu |first1=L. |last2=Li |first2=Y.-W. |last3=Ryder |first3=O. A. |last4=Zhang |first4=Y.-P. |title=Analysis of complete mitochondrial genome sequences increases phylogenetic resolution of bears (Ursidae), a mammalian family that experienced rapid speciation |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |date=2007 |volume=7 |issue=198 |page=198 |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-7-198 |pmid=17956639 |pmc=2151078 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2007BMCEE...7..198Y}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kumar |first1=V. |last2=Lammers |first2=F. |last3=Bidon |first3=T. |last4=Pfenninger |first4=M. |last5=Kolter |first5=L. |last6=Nilsson |first6=M. A. |last7=Janke |first7=A. |year=2017 |title=The evolutionary history of bears is characterized by gene flow across species |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=7 |page=46487 |doi=10.1038/srep46487 |pmid=28422140 |pmc=5395953 |bibcode=2017NatSR...746487K}}</ref> 

{{clade
|label1=[[Ursidae]]
|1={{clade
   |1=[[Giant panda]] (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca'') [[File:Recherches pour servir à l'histoire naturelle des mammifères (Pl. 50) (white background).jpg|75px]]
   |2={{clade
     |1=[[Spectacled bear]] (''Tremarctos ornatus'') [[File:Spectacled bear (1829).jpg|75px]]
     |2=[[Ursinae]] (black, brown, sloth, sun, and polar bears) [[File:Ursus arctos - 1700-1880 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica - Special Collections University of Amsterdam - (white background).jpg|75px]]
      }}
   }}
}}