For many decades the precise taxonomic classification of the Giant Panda was under debate because it shares characteristics of both bears and raccoons. However, molecular studies suggest that the Giant Panda is a true bear and part of the Ursidae family, though it differentiated early in history from the main ursine stock. The Giant Panda's closest ursine relative is the Spectacled Bear of South America. 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. Molecular studies have placed the Red Panda in its own family Ailuridae, and not under Ursidae.

Genomics
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