Link to Oldest Ancestor of Panda Bear Found in Spain Fossils of the earliest bear recorded in the Iberian Peninsula have been discovered in Spain, and researchers believe it was the oldest ancestor of the panda bear. Researchers found 11.6 million-year-old fossil jaws and teeth that bear a strong resemblance to the giant panda, which is now found solely in China. Researchers from Spain have named the ancient bear Kretzoiarctos and reported their findings in the current issue of the journal PLoS One. "The origin of the lineage may not have been located in China, but in the humid forests of Europe during the middle Miocene," said Juan Abella, a paleontologist at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid, and the study's first author. During the middle Miocene, northeastern Spain, where the fossils were discovered, was humid and moderately warm, Dr. Abella said. Kretzoiarctos was an omnivorous species and likely ate a wide variety of food, including meat, fruit, plant stems and leaves. The fossil jaws and teeth that were found indicate that the bear was also able to eat very tough plant material; today's panda is the only living bear with these unique dietary habits. The researchers believe that Kretzoiarctos was about the size of a sun bear and weighed approximately 130 pounds. The giant pandas of today are about double this weight. Studying the ancient bear could help scientists understand how the giant panda evolved to feed on hard bamboo stems, Dr. Abella said.