Summary:
A fossilised bear that may be the ancestor of the giant panda has been discovered in Spain.

Full article:
It has similarly coloured fur to its descendants but scientists now believe the origins of the giant panda lineage may lie not in China but Spain. Two fossils, dating back 11.6million years, have been unearthed in northeast Spain - and are thought to be of the oldest recorded ancestor of the species. The two sets of jaws and teeth belong to a new genus, Kretzoiarctos ('bears of Kretzoi') - in honour of paleontologist Miklos Kretzoi, who had discovered other extinct pandas. First of the giant pandas? Researchers have found the earliest recorded ancestor in Spain, where they believe the species may have originated . The details of the unique bear were . described in a paper published in the open access journal PLOS ONE by . Juan Abella and colleagues from the National Museum of Natural Sciences . and the Catalan Institute of Paleontology, Spain. The fossils have the characteristics of a bear adapted to eating tough plant material like bamboo, the researchers said. The . giant panda, native to certain parts of China, is the only living . member of this unique bear family with these dietary habits. Mr . Abella said: 'The new genus we describe in this paper is not only the . first bear recorded in the Iberian Peninsula, but also the first of the . giant panda's lineage.' The jaw and tooth fragments the team discovered in northeast Spain .