Giant panda years ago) from the main ursine stock; since it is the most basal member of the group, it is equidistant from all other extant ursids. The giant panda has been referred to as a living fossil. Despite the shared name, habitat type, and diet, as well as a unique enlarged bone called the "pseudo thumb" (which helps them grip the bamboo shoots they eat) the giant panda and red panda are only distantly related. The word "panda" was borrowed into English from French, but no conclusive explanation of the origin of the French word "panda" has been found. The closest
Giant panda of goodwill. Unlike many other animals in Ancient China, pandas were rarely thought to have medical uses. The few known uses include the Sichuan tribal peoples' use of panda urine to melt accidentally swallowed needles, and the use of panda pelts to control menses as described in the Qin Dynasty encyclopedia "Erya". The creature named "mo" (貘) mentioned in some ancient books has been interpreted as giant panda. The dictionary "Shuowen Jiezi" (Eastern Han Dynasty) says that the "mo", from Shu (Sichuan), is bear-like, but yellow-and-black, although the older "Erya" describes "mo" simply as a "white leopard". The interpretation of