One method of dating the emergence of species is to compare the genetic material of related species  Scientists theorize that the more genetically similar two species are to each other, the more recently they diverged from a common ancestor  After comparing genetic material from giant pandas, red pandas, raccoons, coatis, and all seven bear species, scientists concluded that bears and raccoons diverged 30 to 50 million years ago
They further concluded that red pandas separated from the ancestor of today' s raccoons and coatis a few million years later, some 10 million years before giant pandas diverged from the other bears
It is possible to determine, within a margin of just a few years, the timing of divergence of various species.