Teeth that were 'gathering dust for 40 years', lead to the discovery of Europe's last Panda

Researchers have discovered a never-seen-before species of European Panda that according to estimates roamed the continent some six million years ago. The discovery of this species—likely the last panda of Europe—began with the finding of a pair of fossil teeth that had been lying in a storage facility undiscovered for 40 years. As per a Live Science report the fossil, which consists of an upper canine and an upper molar, was discovered in northwest Bulgaria in the late 1970s, but they were eventually left in storage at the Bulgarian National Museum of Natural History in Sofia.

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It's astonishing that this discovery remained undiscovered for forty years because it wasn't properly catalogued and was thus left untouched for forty long years. Recently, museum staff stumbled onto the peculiar-looking teeth and decided to investigate further.

An analysis of the teeth soon revealed that they were unlike any of the previously identified species of European pandas or the discovered fossils. The species which has been named Agriarctos Nikolovi had much larger teeth than the majority of European panda species. The giant pandas we know today have large teeth, and the newly discovered Agriarctos Nikolovi's teeth come close.

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In addition, the teeth are significantly more recent than other panda fossils found in Europe, some of which are over 10 million years old, indicating that A. Nikolovi was probably the final panda species to inhabit the continent.

However, despite the similarities the modern pandas are not a direct descendent of this species, but "is a close relative" says study co-author Nikolai Spassov, a palaeontologist at the Bulgarian National Museum of Natural History.

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"This discovery shows how little we still know about ancient nature," he remarked.

The authors of the study speculate that A. Nikolovi's habitat and diet may have been impacted by climate change, which may have ultimately led to its extinction.

(With inputs from agencies)

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