what is......?

小熊貓又名紅熊貓，有時在中文中也稱火狐,英文中亦有「Fire Fox」既是對其的直接譯名，是一種哺乳類動物，分佈在中國南方到喜馬拉雅山麓。屬於食肉目、小熊貓科。它究竟應該列在熊科或浣熊科是多年來一直被爭論的問題，最近經過基因分析，認為與美洲大陸的浣熊親緣關係最接近，應該單獨列為小熊貓科。

小熊貓長約50至60厘米，體重約3至5公斤，身體軀幹毛為栗色，四肢和腹有些黑色毛，面部白色花紋不像大熊貓那樣明顯，但前爪根骨的一部分突起成手指狀，可作為第6手指抓握物品，和大熊貓相同。

以果實、根、筍、栓皮櫟、昆蟲等為食物。夜行性，白天在樹上睡眠。交尾期為1～3月，5～7月生育，一胎一般有1～4頭仔。幼仔5個月左右斷奶，18～20個月性成熟。

目前由於森林砍伐等原因，野生棲息地萎縮，造成數量明顯減少，據估計大約只有不到5000頭。小熊貓被列入IUCN紅色名錄的瀕危級別，及華盛頓公約的附錄一，嚴格禁止交易。

分類
界： 動物界 Animalia
門： 脊索動物門 Chordata
綱： 哺乳綱 Mammalia
目： 食肉目 Carnivora
科： 小熊貓科 Ailuridae
屬： 小熊貓屬 Ailurus
種： 小熊貓 A. fulgens

The Red Panda, Ailurus fulgens ("shining cat," from a Latinized form of the Greek αιλουρος, ailouros, "cat," and the participial form of the Latin fulgere, "to shine") [1] is a mostly herbivorous mammal, slightly larger than a domestic cat (55 cm long). The Red Panda has semi-retractile claws and, like the Giant Panda, has a "false thumb" which is really an extension of the wrist bone. Thick fur on the soles of the feet offers protection from cold and hides scent glands. Red Pandas are a little bigger than domesticated cats and their cubs are a little bigger than domesticated kittens. The Red Panda is native to the Himalayas in India and Nepal and southern China.

This taxonomic classification of both the Red Panda and Giant Panda has been under debate for many decades, as both species share characteristics of both bears and raccoon. However, they are only very distantly related by remote common ancestry from the Early Tertiary Period. Its common ancestor can be traced back to tens of millions of years ago with a wide distribution across Eurasia. Fossils of the Red Panda have been unearthed from China in the east to Britain in the west (Hu, 1990), and most recently a handful of fossils (Pristinailurus bristoli, Miocene,[2][3] considered to be a new genus and species of the Red Panda)[4] have also been discovered in North America.

There are two extant subspecies of Red Panda: the Western Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens fulgens) that lives in the western part of its range, and the somewhat larger Styans Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens styani) that lives in the east-northeastern part of its range. The Western Red Panda has lighter pelage, especially in the face, while the Styans Red Panda has more dramatic facial markings. The effective population size in the Sichuan population is larger and more stable than that in the Yunnan population, implying a southward expansion from Sichuan to Yunnan.[5]

The Red Panda is classified as an endangered species. There is an estimated population of less than 2,500 mature individuals and this number continues to decline due to severely fragmented populations.[6]

red panda


紅色的熊貓