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The pygmy giant panda bear (Ailuropoda microta) evolved from the primal panda (Ailuropoda lufengensis) between 2 million and 3 million years ago.
It is the oldest known species of the genus Ailuropoda which contains the modern giant panda bear of today.
A fossilized skull of the pygmy giant panda was found in a karst cave in China in 2005. It lived in lowland tropical bamboo forests of
southern China, whereas the giant panda of today is restricted to more remote mountainous bamboo forests due to
human encroachment.
The pygmy panda resembled a fat dog, measuring about 3 feet in length (about half the size of the modern giant panda). Dental remains
indicate that the pygmy panda was already adapted to a diet of bamboo.
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