Traditionally, the Cape lion was considered a distinct subspecies of lion, Panthera leo melanochaita.[4][5] However, phylogeographic analysis has shown that lion populations in Southern and East Africa are closely related.[6][7] In 2017, the subspecies Panthera leo melanochaita was recircumscribed to include all lion populations in Southern and East Africa.[8] Genetic analysis published in 2023 suggests that Cape lions were not particularly distinctive from other Southern African lion populations.[9]
^Mazak, V. (1975). "Notes on the Black-maned Lion of the Cape, Panthera leo melanochaita (Ch. H. Smith, 1842) and a Revised List of the Preserved Specimens". Verhandelingen Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen (64): 1–44. ISBN0-7204-8289-5.
^Smith, C.H. (1842). "Black maned lion Leo melanochaita". In Jardine, W. (ed.). The Naturalist's Library. Vol. 15. Mammalia. London: Chatto and Windus. p. Plate X, 177.