Agriarctos beatrix, an ancestor of the giant panda (© José Antonio Peñas/SINC)

Check out what scientists believe was a Spanish panda

5/16/2012

Maybe this means we'll soon be able to order tapas at Panda Express? Researchers at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid, Spain say the popular black-and-white beasts might have walked from Europe to China millions of years ago as the species known as A. beatrix, depicted above with no small amount of creative license. Teeth unearthed in Spain from A. beatrix share the same dental structure as modern giant pandas, leading study leader Juan Abella to say that the origin of the group is located in Europe, not China. Until he finds a full skeleton, though, that's all he can say, but that's huge enough news to warrant a sangria and a few egg rolls.

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