22,000-year-old panda from cave in Southern China belongs to distinct, long-lost lineage
(PHYSorg.com Archaeology & Fossils)

Researchers who`ve analyzed ancient mitochondrial (mt)DNA isolated from a 22,000-year-old panda found in Cizhutuo Cave in the Guangxi Province of China-a place where no pandas live today-have revealed a new lineage of giant panda. The report, published in Current Biology on June 18, shows that the ancient panda separated from present-day pandas 144,000 to 227,000 years ago, suggesting that it belonged to a distinct group not found today.