| Panthera[1] Temporal range: Early Pliocene to Recent |
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|---|---|
| Top to bottom: tiger, lion, jaguar, and leopard. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Pantherinae |
| Genus: | Panthera Oken, 1816 |
| Type species | |
| Felis pardus Linnaeus, 1758 |
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| Panthera range | |
Panthera is a genus of the family Felidae (cats), which contains four well-known living species: the tiger, the lion, the jaguar, and the leopard. The genus comprises about half of the Pantherinae subfamily, the big cats. The word panther, while technically referring to all members of the genus, is commonly used to specifically designate the black panther.
Only the four Panthera cat species have the anatomical structure that enables them to roar. The primary reason for this was formerly assumed to be the incomplete ossification of the hyoid bone. However, new studies show that the ability to roar is due to other morphological features, especially of the larynx. The snow leopard, Uncia uncia, which is sometimes included within Panthera, does not roar. Although it has an incomplete ossification of the hyoid bone, it lacks the special morphology of the larynx.[2]
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According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the origin of the word is unknown. A folk etymology derives the word from the Greek πάν pan- ("all") and thēr ("beast of prey") because they can hunt and kill almost everything. The Greek word πάνθηρ, pánthēr, referred to all spotted Felidae generically. Although it came into English through the classical languages, panthera is more likely related to a Sanskrit word meaning "the yellowish animal" or "whitish-yellow".[3]
Like much of the family Felidae, Panthera has been subject to much debate and taxonomic revision. At the base of the genus is probably the extinct felid Viretailurus schaubi, which is also regarded as an early member of the genus Puma.[4] Panthera likely evolved in Asia, but the definite roots of the genus remain unclear. The divergence of the pantherine cats (including the living genera Panthera, Uncia, and Neofelis) from the subfamily Felinae (including all other living cat species) has been ranked between six and ten million years ago.[5] The fossil record points to the emergence of Panthera just 2 to 3.8 million years ago.[6]
The snow leopard was seen originally at the base of the Panthera, but newer molecular studies suggest that it is nestled within Panthera and is a sister species of the tiger.[7] Thus, many place the snow leopard within the genus Panthera,[5][8][9][7] but there is currently no consensus as to whether the snow leopard should retain its own genus, Uncia[10] or be moved to Panthera uncia.[5][8][9][11] Since 2008, the IUCN Red List has listed it as Panthera uncia, with Uncia uncia identified as a synonym.[12] A prehistoric feline, probably closely related to the modern jaguar, is Panthera gombaszogensis, often called European jaguar. The earliest evidence of this species, obtained at what is now Olivola in Italy, dates from 1.6 million years ago.
The clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), which was divided in 2007 to distinguish the Bornean clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi), is generally placed at the basis of the Panthera group but is not included in the genus Panthera itself.[5][8][9][11]
A study based on mitochondrial genomes suggests that the phylogeny can be represented as Neofelis nebulosa (Panthera tigris (Panthera onca (Panthera pardus, (Panthera leo, Panthera uncia)))).[13] About 11.3 million years ago Panthera separated from other felid species and then evolved into the several species of the genus. N. nebulosa appears to have diverged about 8.66 million years ago, P. tigris about 6.55 million years ago, P. uncia about 4.63 million years ago and P. pardus about 4.35 million years ago. Mitochondrial sequence data from fossils suggest that American lions (P. atrox) are a sister lineage to Eurasian cave lions (P. l. spelaea), diverging about 0.34 million years ago.[14]
There have been many subspecies of all four Panthera species suggested; however, many of the leopard and lion subspecies are questionable. Recently it has been proposed that all sub-Saharan populations of leopards are of the same leopard subspecies and that all sub-Saharan populations of lions likewise belong to the same lion subspecies, as they do not have sufficient genetic distinction between them. Some prehistoric lion subspecies have been described from historical evidence and fossils. They may have been separate species.
The "black panther" is not a distinct species but is just the common name for black (melanistic) specimens of the genus, most often encountered in jaguar and leopard species.
(Extinct species and subspecies are indicated with the symbol †)