A team of Chinese paleontologists along with their US counterparts have discovered an extinct predatory family of giant pandas that were characterized by long limbs and excellent running abilities.

The researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the American Museum of Natural History have identified a new genus, named Huracan, has been described based on a significant amount of fossil materials found in both North America and eastern Asia.

Huracan is believed to have emerged during the late Miocene period, spanning from approximately 11.6 to 5.3 million years ago.

The limb bones of Huracan indicate that it had good running abilities, but its forelimbs were not as strong or flexible as those of other bear species. This demonstrates that it likely preyed on animals such as sheep or camels, as opposed to more muscular animals like rhinoceros or elephants.

The new genus possesses characters shared with both Agriotherium and Indarctos, which are two ancient giant bears whose evolutionary relationship was previously unclear.

Source: Qatar News Agency