Giant panda
Taxonomy
The nominate subspecies, A. m. melanoleuca, consists of most extant populations of the giant panda. These animals are principally found in Sichuan and display the typical stark black and white contrasting colours. The Qinling panda, A. m. qinlingensis, is restricted to the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi at elevations of 1,300–3,000 m. The typical black and white pattern of Sichuan giant pandas is replaced with a light brown and white pattern. The skull of A. m. qinlingensis is smaller than its relatives, and it has larger molars. A detailed study of the giant panda's genetic history from 2012 confirms that the separation of the Qinlin population occurred about 300,000 years ago, and reveals that the non-Qinlin population further diverged into two groups, named the Minshan and the Qionglai-Daxiangling-Xiaoxiangling-Liangshan group respectively, about 2,800 years ago.
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