Red Panda Anatomy

This chapter focuses on the red panda anatomy. While studying the external anatomy, it was found that the facial vibrissae of the red panda, located in the buccal, mandibular, and submental regions, are moderate in length. The erect, triangular-shaped ears are covered with white hair ventrally, apart from a red patch in the centre. The red panda possesses 36 to 38 teeth and has the dental formula: i 3/3, c 1/1, p 3/3-4, m 2/2. The first upper premolar is absent, while the first lower premolar is absent or vestigial. Compared to other carnivores, the red panda's mandible is more robust than expected based on body size; however, the mandible of the giant panda is even more robust, reflecting its dependence on the hardest part of the bamboo plant, the stems. The larynx of the red panda resembles that of the procyonids, in that the thyroid, cri- coid, arytenoid, and corniculate cartilages are reduced, while the cuneiform cartilages are absent. The glands associated with the reproductive system are reduced or absent in the red panda. Similar toursids, Ailurus is characterized by a small prostate gland; infact, in the giant panda, the gland is absent altogether. Further, in the red panda, the humerus is characterized by a prominent entepicondylar foramen. This foramen is absent in ursids and canids. In Ailurus, the entepicondylar foramen transmits the median nerve; however, the brachial artery does not travel through this foramen. This arrangement is also found in procyonids; however, inmustelids and feliforms, the artery and the nerve travel through the foramen. © 2011