The fossil of Hong Shi Panda, the oldest panda member, was unearthed in Lufeng and Yuanmou, Yunnan, China, with a geological age of about 8 million years ago in the late Miocene.
The ancestor of giant panda is Eocene panda, and its main branches continue to evolve in central and southern China. One of them appeared in the early Pleistocene about 3 million years ago, smaller than the panda, while the main branch of Eocene panda continued to evolve in central and southern China, and one of them appeared in the early Pleistocene about 3 million years ago, smaller than the panda.
Extended data:
Giant pandas live in dense bamboo forests at an altitude of 2,600-3,500 meters. The air here is thin and foggy all the year round, and the temperature is below 20℃. Other factors will also affect the distribution and density of giant pandas in the wild: bamboo, topography, distribution of water sources, whether there are hiding places and nests for feeding cubs, and mountain conditions. Human disturbance is the main factor affecting the distribution of giant pandas at present.
Giant pandas are distributed in Minshan, Qionglai, Liangshan, Daxiangling, Xiaoxiangling and Qinling, spanning 45 counties (cities) in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, with a habitat area of more than 20,000 square kilometers and a population of about 1600, of which more than 80% are distributed in Sichuan.
References:
Baidu encyclopedia-giant panda