Latin for "shining, bright". Taxonomy The red panda was described and named in 1825 by Frederic Cuvier, who gave it its current scientific name Ailurus fulgens. Cuvier's description was based on zoological specimens, including skin, paws, jawbones and teeth "from the mountains north of India", as well as an account by Alfred Duvaucel. The red panda was described earlier by Thomas Hardwicke in 1821, but his paper was only published in 1827. In 1902, Oldfield Thomas described a skull of a male red panda specimen under the name Ailurus fulgens styani in honour of Frederick William Styan who had collected this specimen in Sichuan. Subspecies and species The modern red panda is the only recognised species in the genus Ailurus. It is traditionally divided into two subspecies: the Himalayan red panda (A. f. fulgens) and the Chinese red panda (A. f. styani). The Himalayan subspecies has a straighter profile, a lighter coloured forehead and ochre-tipped hairs on the lower back and rump. The Chinese subspecies has a more curved forehead and sloping snout, a darker coat with a less white face and more contrast between the tail rings. In 2020, results of a genetic analysis of red panda samples showed that the red panda populations in the Himalayas and China were separated about 250,000 years ago. The researchers suggested that the two subspecies should be treated as distinct species. Red Pandas in southeastern Tibet and northern Myanmar were found to be part of styani, while those of southern Tibet were of fulgens in the strict sense. DNA sequencing of 132 red panda faecal samples collected in Northeast India and China also showed two distinct clusters indicating that the Siang River constitutes the boundary between the Himalayan and Chinese red pandas. They probably diverged due to glaciation events on the southern Tibetan Plateau in the Pleistocene. Phylogeny The placement of the red panda on the evolutionary tree has been debated. In the early 20th century, various scientists placed it in the family Procyonidae with raccoons and their allies. At the time, most prominent biologists also considered the red panda to be related to the giant panda, which would eventually be found to be a bear. A 1982 study examined the similarities and differences in the skull between the red panda and the giant panda, other bears and procyonids, and placed the species in its own family Ailuridae. The author of the