Panthera leo leo

For the internet personality, see Northernlion.

Panthera leo leo
Asiatic lions in Gir Forest National Park
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Pantherinae
Genus: Panthera
Species:
P. leo
Subspecies:
P. l. leo
Trinomial name
Panthera leo leo
Synonyms[1]
  • P. l. gambianus
  • P. l. persica
  • P. l. senegalensis
  • P. l. nubicus
  • P. l. kamptzi
  • P. l. azandica

Panthera leo leo is a lion subspecies present in West Africa, northern Central Africa and India.[2] In West and Central Africa it is restricted to fragmented and isolated populations with a declining trajectory.[3][4] It has been referred to as the northern lion.[5][6][7]

Results of a phylogeographic study indicate that lion populations in West and Central African range countries are genetically close to populations in India, forming a major clade distinct from lion populations in Southern and East Africa.[8] In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group subsumed lion populations according to the major clades into two subspecies, namely P. l. leo and P. l. melanochaita.[2] Within P. l. leo three subclades are clearly distinguishable. One from Asia, which includes the extinct Barbary lions of North Africa, another one from West Africa and a third one from Central Africa, north of the rainforest belt.[8]

P. l. leo is regionally extinct in North Africa, southern Europe, and West Asia. Asia's sole lion population lives in and around Gir National Park, India.[9] The West African lion population is geographically isolated and numbers fewer than 250 mature individuals. It is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.[10]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference MSW3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Kitchener, A. C.; Breitenmoser-Würsten, C.; Eizirik, E.; Gentry, A.; Werdelin, L.; Wilting, A.; Yamaguchi, N.; Abramov, A. V.; Christiansen, P.; Driscoll, C.; Duckworth, J. W.; Johnson, W.; Luo, S.-J.; Meijaard, E.; O'Donoghue, P.; Sanderson, J.; Seymour, K.; Bruford, M.; Groves, C.; Hoffmann, M.; Nowell, K.; Timmons, Z. & Tobe, S. (2017). "A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group" (PDF). Cat News (Special Issue 11): 71−73.
  3. ^ Chardonnet, P. (2002). "Chapter II: Population Survey". Conservation of the African Lion: Contribution to a Status Survey. Paris: International Foundation for the Conservation of Wildlife, France & Conservation Force, USA. pp. 21–101.
  4. ^ Bauer, H. & Van Der Merwe, S. (2004). "Inventory of free-ranging lions Panthera leo in Africa". Oryx. 38 (1): 26–31. doi:10.1017/S0030605304000055 (inactive 1 November 2024).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  5. ^ Wood, J. G. (1865). "Felidæ; or the Cat Tribe". The Illustrated Natural History. Mammalia, Volume 1. London: Routledge. p. 129−148.
  6. ^ Hunter, L. & Barrett, P. (2018). "Lion Panthera leo". The Field Guide to Carnivores of the World (2 ed.). London, Oxford, New York, New Delhi, Sydney: Bloomsbury. pp. 46−47. ISBN 978-1-4729-5080-2.
  7. ^ Äbischer, T.; Ibrahim, T.; Hickisch, R.; Furrer, R. D.; Leuenberger, C. & Wegmann, D. (2020). "Apex predators decline after an influx of pastoralists in former Central African Republic hunting zones" (PDF). Biological Conservation. 241: 108326. Bibcode:2020BCons.24108326A. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108326. S2CID 213766740.
  8. ^ a b Bertola, L. D.; Jongbloed, H.; Van Der Gaag, K. J.; De Knijff, P.; Yamaguchi, N.; Hooghiemstra, H.; Bauer, H.; Henschel, P.; White, P. A.; Driscoll, C. A. & Tende, T. (2016). "Phylogeographic patterns in Africa and High Resolution Delineation of genetic clades in the Lion (Panthera leo)". Scientific Reports. 6: 30807. Bibcode:2016NatSR...630807B. doi:10.1038/srep30807. PMC 4973251. PMID 27488946.
  9. ^ Nicholson, S.; Bauer, H.; Strampelli, P.; Sogbohossou, E.; Ikanda, D.; Tumenta, P.F.; Venktraman, M.; Chapron, G.; Loveridge, A. (2024) [amended version of 2023 assessment]. "Panthera leo". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2024: e.T15951A259030422. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  10. ^ Henschel, P.; Bauer, H.; Sogbohoussou, E.; Nowell, K. (2015). "Panthera leo (West Africa subpopulation)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T68933833A54067639. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T68933833A54067639.en. Retrieved 1 July 2024.