<P> The red panda is considered a living fossil and only distantly related to the giant panda ( Ailuropoda melanoleuca ) , as it is naturally more closely related to the other members of the superfamily Musteloidea to which it belongs . The common ancestor of both pandas ( which also was an ancestor for all living bears ; pinnipeds like seals and walruses ; and members of the family Musteloidea like weasels and otters ) can be traced back to the Early Tertiary period tens of millions of years ago , with a wide distribution across Eurasia . </P>
when did the red panda first appear on earth
the Early Tertiary period tens of millions of years ago