4 Part Summary
Part 1
In this timeline it shows how the population of giant pandas has evolutionized. Different factors have caused this evolution. As you can see in the evolution tree, the giant pandas had a decent population size 10,000,000 years ago. As you get closer to present day, speciation events occurs this is that global warming is having a great impact on the panda’s food source, the fish are dying. The Ailuropoda melanoleuca bambooneous is the species that develops the adaptations of eating bamboo, strong jaws, and smooth molars. The Ailuropoda melanoleuca longlegneous is the species that developed strong legs in order to climb trees and get their prey from high in the trees. The panda species that ate all these animals later became known as Ailuropoda legacious. Eventually many of the animals that the pandas ate became extinct because the pandas were eating too much of them. This causes the Ailuropoda legacious species of pandas to also become extinct later on. Currently though the Ailuropoda pollex species is still living because they have been able to survive on eating bamboo and have developed adaptations that help them with eating the bamboo.
Part 2
The speciation event that occurred was that global warming was an issue that was increasing dramatically. Due to the rising temperatures on earth, the land and they water became very warm. The fish that lived in the water were not used to the warm temperatures that were developing. As the years went by a very few amount of fish were able to develop adaptations that allowed them to live in these temperatures. The lack of food caused a decrease in the population of pandas, and it caused them to diverse into two different species. The Ailuropoda melanoleuca bambooneous was a species of pandas that developed because they began to eat bamboo and that provided them with good nutrients and allowed them to survive to present day. The Ailuropoda melanoleuca longlegneous was a species that developed because these pandas began to climb trees in order to get their food. Eventually their prey died and the pandas followed.
Part 3
The Ailuropoda legacious is a species of pandas that became extinct not too long ago, only about 1,500,000 million years ago. During the speciation event that occurred with the giant panda, this species changed into a different species that was a carnivore and climbed trees. The reason this species of panda was a carnivore was because they adapted to living in trees and eating the animals that lived high up in the trees. Since the pandas were always climbing trees they developed very strong legs that allowed them to climb trees very fast. This adaptation was also to their advantage because they could escape from their predators quickly and they could also catch their prey faster. Natural selection did not favor this species because it would not have been successful because it would cause many other organisms to become extinct, whereas the opposing species allowed many species to live and they would only eat bamboo.
Part 4
Ailuropoda pollex was a species of panda that developed from the Ailuropoda melanoleuca bambooneous species and currently exists today. The development of this species is very interesting. After the speciation event this species of pandas adapted to eating bamboo trees. The bamboo trees provided the pandas with sufficient nutrients and have allowed them continue living today. With the adaptation of eating bamboo many other adaptations have also developed such as the development of strong jaw muscles. Pandas need the strong jaws because the bamboo was a very durable and flexible plant that was difficult to eat. As a result, pandas have also developed an enlarged cranial cavity that can house the strong jaw muscles necessary to chew through bamboo. Along with this adaptation of the strong jaw muscle pandas also needed proper teeth to be able to eat the bamboo. They developed smoother and larger molars because this way it was easier for them to eat the bamboo. Not only that, but pandas also developed a sixth toe that allows them to grab the bamboo with more ease and that is also an important part if their survival. All of these adaptations are the reason why the Ailuropoda pollex species is still successful today.