Ailuridae

Ailuridae; Temporal range: Oligocene–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Red Panda
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Caniformia
Infraorder:	Arctoidea
Superfamily:	Musteloidea
Family:	Ailuridae; Gray, 1843
Genera
	Actiocyon (†); Ailurus; Alopecocyon (†); Amphictis (†); Magerictis (†); Parailurus (†); Pristinailurus (†); Protursus (†); Simocyon (†)
	Extant red panda distribution.

Ailuridae is a family in the mammal order Carnivora. The family comprises the red panda (the sole living representative) and its extinct relatives.

Frédéric Georges Cuvier first described Ailurus as belonging to the raccoon family in 1825; this classification has been controversial ever since.^[1] It was classified in the raccoon family (Procyonidae) because of morphological similarities of the head, colored ringed tail, and other morphological and ecological characteristics. Then, it was assigned to the bear family (Ursidae).

Molecular phylogenetic studies show that, as an ancient species in the order Carnivora, the Red Panda is relatively close to the American Raccoon and may be either a monotypic family or a subfamily within the procynonid family.^[1]^[2]^[3] An in-depth mitochondrial DNA population analysis study^[3] stated: “According to the fossil record, the Red Panda diverged from its common ancestor with bears about 40 million years ago (Mayr 1986). With this divergence, by comparing the sequence difference between the red panda and the raccoon, the observed mutation rate for the red panda was calculated to be on the order of 10⁹, which is apparently an underestimate compared with the average rate in mammals.^[4] This underestimation is probably due to multiple recurrent mutations as the divergence between the red panda and the raccoon is extremely deep.”

The most recent molecular-systematic DNA research places the red panda into its own independent family, Ailuridae. Ailuridae are, in turn, part of a trichotomy within the broad superfamily Musteloidea (Flynn et al., 2001) that also includes the Mephitidae + Mustelidae (skunks + weasels) and the Procyonidae (raccoons); but it is not a bear (Ursidae).^[5]

Red Pandas have no close living relatives, and their nearest fossil ancestors, Parailurus, lived 3-4 million years ago. There may have been as many as three different species of Parailurus, all larger and more robust in the head and jaw, living in Europe and Asia but possibly crossing the Bering Strait into the Americas. The red panda may be the sole surviving species - a specialized offshoot surviving the Ice Age in a Chinese mountain refuge.^[6]

Fossil species

In addition to Ailurus, the family Ailuridae includes eight extinct genera, most of which are assigned to two subfamilies, Ailurinae and Simocyoninae.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]

Family Ailuridae
- Genus Protursus (†)
  - Protursus simpsoni
- ?Subfamily Amphictinae
  - Genus Viretius (†)
    - Viretius goeriachensis
  - Genus Amphictis (†)
    - Amphictis aginensis
    - Amphictis antiqua
    - Amphictis borbonica
    - Amphictis prolongata
    - Amphictis schlosseri
    - Amphictis wintershofensis
- Subfamily Simocyoninae (†)
  - Genus Alopecocyon (†)
    - Alopecocyon leardi
  - Genus Simocyon (†)
    - Simocyon batalleri
    - Simocyon diaphorus
    - Simocyon hungaricus
    - Simocyon primigenius
- Subfamily Ailurinae
  - Genus Magerictis (†)
    - Magerictis imperialensis
  - Genus Pristinailurus (†)
    - Pristinailurus bristoli
  - Genus Parailurus (†)
    - Parailurus sp.
    - Parailurus hungaricus
    - Parailurus anglicus
  - Genus Ailurus
    - Ailurus fulgens – red panda

References

^ ^a ^b Mayr, E (1986). "Uncertainty in Science: is the Giant panda a bear or a raccoon?". Nature. 323 (6091): 769–771. doi:10.1038/323769a0. PMID 3774006.
^ Zhang, YP & Ryder, OA (1993). "Mitochondrial DNA sequence evolution in the Arctoidea". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 90 (20): 9557–9561. doi:10.1073/pnas.90.20.9557. PMC 47608. PMID 8415740.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ ^a ^b Slattery JP & O'Brien, SJ (1995). "Molecular phylogeny of the red panda (Ailurus fulgens)". J. Hered. 86 (6): 413–422. PMID 8568209. Invalid <ref> tag; name "Slattery" defined multiple times with different content
^ Li, WH (1997). Molecular Evolution. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer.
^ "Whence the Red Panda" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-02-25.
^ Roberts, MS & Gittleman, JL (1984). "Ailurus fulgens". Mammalian Species. 222 (222). American Society of Mammalogists: 1–8. doi:10.2307/3503840. JSTOR 3503840.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ McKenna, MC & Bell SK (1997). Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level. Columbia University Press.
^ Peigné, S., M. Salesa, M. Antón, and J. Morales (2005). "Ailurid carnivoran mammal Simocyon from the late Miocene of Spain and the systematics of the genus". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 50: 219–238.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Salesa, M., M. Antón, S. Peigné, and J. Morales (2006). "Evidence of a false thumb in a fossil carnivore clarifies the evolution of pandas". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 103 (2): 379–382. doi:10.1073/pnas.0504899102. PMC 1326154. PMID 16387860.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Wallace, SC & Wang, X (2004). "Two new carnivores from an unusual late Tertiary forest biota in eastern North Americ". Nature. 431 (7008): 556–559. doi:10.1038/nature02819. PMID 15457257.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ http://www.helsinki.fi/~mhaaramo/metazoa/deuterostoma/chordata/synapsida/eutheria/carnivora/arctoidea/ailuridae.html

Davis, Davis D. (1964). “The Giant Panda: A Morphological Study of Evolutionary Mechanisms.“ Zoology Memoirs. Vol. 3:1-339.
Decker D.M. and W.C. Wozencraft. (1991). “Phylogenetic Analysis of Recent Procyonid Genera.“ Journal of Mammalogy. Vol. 72 (1): 42-55.
Flynn, J.J. and G.D. Wesley Hunt. (2005a). “Carnivora.“ in The Rise of Placental Mammals: Origin, Timing and Relationships of the Major Extant Clades, by D. Archibold and K. Rose. Baltimore. ISBN 0-8018-8022-X
Flynn, John J., et al. (2005b). “Molecular phylogeny of the Carnivora (Mammalia): ASS-ASS the impact of increased sampling to on resolving enigmatic relationships.“ Systematic Biology. Vol. 54 (2):1-21. [1]
Flynn, John J. Flynn, Michael A. Nedbal, J.W. Dragoo, and R.L. Honeycutt. (1998) "Whence the Red Panda?" Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. Vol. 17, No. 2, November 2000, pp. 190–199. [2]
Glatston, A.R. (1989). Talk Panda Biology. The Hague. ISBN 90-5103-026-6
Glatston, A.R. (compiler) (1994). “The Red Panda, Olingos, Coatis, Raccoons, and their Relatives: Status survey and conservation action plan for Procyonids and Ailurids.”
IUCN/SSC Mustelid, Viverrid, and Procyonid Specialist Group. IUCN/SSC, Gland, Switzerland.
Gregory, W.K. (1936). “On the Phylogenetic Relationships of the Giant Panda (Ailuropoda) to other Arctoid Carnivores.“ American Museum Novitates. Vol. 878:1-29.
Hu, J.C. (1990). “Proceedings of studies of the red panda.” Chinese Scientific Publishing, Beijing, China [in Chinese].

[3]

Wilson, Don E. and DeeAnn M. Reeder. (2005). Mammal of Species of the World. Johns Hopkins University press. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4.

[Mayr-1] Mayr, E (1986). "Uncertainty in Science: is the Giant panda a bear or a raccoon?". Nature. 323 (6091): 769–771. doi:10.1038/323769a0. PMID 3774006.

[Zhang-2] Zhang, YP & Ryder, OA (1993). "Mitochondrial DNA sequence evolution in the Arctoidea". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 90 (20): 9557–9561. doi:10.1073/pnas.90.20.9557. PMC 47608. PMID 8415740.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[Slattery-3] Slattery JP & O'Brien, SJ (1995). "Molecular phylogeny of the red panda (Ailurus fulgens)". J. Hered. 86 (6): 413–422. PMID 8568209. Invalid <ref> tag; name "Slattery" defined multiple times with different content

[Li-4] Li, WH (1997). Molecular Evolution. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer.

[5] "Whence the Red Panda" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-02-25.

[Roberts-6] Roberts, MS & Gittleman, JL (1984). "Ailurus fulgens". Mammalian Species. 222 (222). American Society of Mammalogists: 1–8. doi:10.2307/3503840. JSTOR 3503840.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[McKenna-7] McKenna, MC & Bell SK (1997). Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level. Columbia University Press.

[Peigne-8] Peigné, S., M. Salesa, M. Antón, and J. Morales (2005). "Ailurid carnivoran mammal Simocyon from the late Miocene of Spain and the systematics of the genus". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 50: 219–238.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[Salesa-9] Salesa, M., M. Antón, S. Peigné, and J. Morales (2006). "Evidence of a false thumb in a fossil carnivore clarifies the evolution of pandas". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 103 (2): 379–382. doi:10.1073/pnas.0504899102. PMC 1326154. PMID 16387860.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[Wallace-10] Wallace, SC & Wang, X (2004). "Two new carnivores from an unusual late Tertiary forest biota in eastern North Americ". Nature. 431 (7008): 556–559. doi:10.1038/nature02819. PMID 15457257.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[11] ttp://www.helsinki.fi/~mhaaramo/metazoa/deuterostoma/chordata/synapsida/eutheria/carnivora/arctoidea/ailuridae.html

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