Chinese paleontologist discovers prehistoric bear-dog fossil

Li Xiaochun, a paleontologist from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, displays one of her latest discoveries: a piece of maxilla fossil that dates back roughly 5.3 million years. Seen here on Thursday, March 14, 2019, the fossil appears to be from a previously unknown genus from within the same family as dogs and bears. The new species has been named Zhanxiang after the Chinese paleontologist Qiu Zhanxiang. The discovery has been published in the American Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. [Photo: VCG]