Significant progress was made in a paleontology survey conducted at Shuanghe Cave in Suiyang County, Zunyi City, Guizhou Province, China, which is considered Asia's longest cave. At the results presentation of the 25th International Cave Science Survey held recently, it was revealed that a total of 61 panda fossils have been discovered so far.

According to Wang Deyuan, Associate Researcher at the Guizhou Academy of Sciences' Institute of Mountain Resources, 9 new specimens were confirmed in this survey. Many were found in newly explored passages, and two claw marks were also discovered.

In this survey, paleobiological fossils such as takin, rhinoceros, and stegodon were also found. Among them, Megatapirus (an extinct species of large tapir) and clouded leopards were confirmed for the first time in Shuanghe Cave, and the juvenile Megatapirus skeleton became one of the most complete specimens of its kind found in China.

According to Zhou Wenlong, Deputy Director of the same institute, 25 international joint surveys have been conducted in Shuanghe Cave since the late 1980s. The total length of the cave confirmed so far is 481.5 kilometers, an increase of 41.8 kilometers from the previous survey. Its depth is 912 meters, and 124 entrances are interconnected, making it the third longest cave in the world and the longest in Asia. (Provided by Xinhua News Agency)