Smallest giant panda

The smallest species of giant panda was the now-extinct dwarf or pygmy giant panda Ailuropoda microta, which was only around 1 m long, and resembled a fat domestic dog in overall appearance. It evolved between 2 and 2.4 million years ago, and lived in lowland tropical bamboo forests of southern China, where – like its larger, modern-day relative – it fed upon bamboo shoots, judging from the distinctive wear pattern present on its teeth. This species was also the earliest known member of the giant panda genus, Ailuropoda, and was known only from fossil teeth and a few mandibles (lower jaw bones) until 2005. That was the year in which the first known skull from this species was discovered, in a karst limestone cave called Jinyin Cave, in Guangxi, southeastern China, and was approximately half the size of the modern-day giant panda's skull.