While the red panda is primarily herbivorous, the teeth and skull of
Simocyon indicate that it was carnivorous, and it may have engaged in some bone-crushing, like living
hyenas. The skeleton of
Simocyon indicates that, like the red panda, it could climb trees, although it probably also spent considerable time on the ground.
Simocyon and
Ailurus both have a radial
sesamoid, an unusual bone in the wrist that acts as a false thumb. Because
Simocyon is considered carnivorous, the presence of a false thumb suggests that this structure likely evolved for climbing rather than for bamboo grasping and feeding. Its competitors during its time period were
ailuropodine and
tremarctine bears,
nimravid false cats, and early
canids and
felids. ==References==