The lion is a species withinside the own circle of relatives Felidae and a member of the genus Panthera. It has a muscular, deep-chested frame, brief, rounded head, spherical ears, and a bushy tuft on the stop of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; person male lions have a distinguished mane. With a standard head-to-frame period of they're large than girls at . It is a social species, forming organizations known as prides. A lion satisfaction includes some person adult males, associated girls and cubs. Groups of lady lions generally hunt together, preying totally on massive ungulates. The lion is an apex and keystone predator; even though a few lions scavenge whilst possibilities arise and were acknowledged to seek human beings, the species usually does now no longer.
Typically, the lion inhabits grasslands and savannas, however is absent in dense forests. It is generally extra diurnal than different massive cats, however whilst persecuted it adapts to being lively at night time and at twilight. In the Pleistocene, the lion ranged at some stage in Eurasia, Africa and North America, however nowadays it's been decreased to fragmented populations in sub-Saharan Africa and one significantly endangered populace in western India. It has been indexed as Vulnerable at the IUCN Red List seeing that 1996 due to the fact populations in African nations have declined through approximately 43% for the reason that early 1990s. Lion populations are untenable outdoor exact blanketed regions. Although the motive of the decline isn't absolutely understood, habitat loss and conflicts with human beings are the best reasons for concern.
One of the maximum extensively recognized animal symbols in human culture, the lion has been appreciably depicted in sculptures and artwork, on country wide flags, and in present day movies and literature. Lions were stored in menageries for the reason that time of the Roman Empire and were a key species hunted for exhibition in zoological gardens internationally for the reason that overdue 18th century. Cultural depictions of lions have been distinguished withinside the Upper Paleolithic duration; carvings and artwork from the Lascaux and Chauvet Caves in France were dated to 17,000 years ago, and depictions have passed off in definitely all historical and medieval cultures that coincided with the lion's former and cutting-edge ranges.
Etymology
The phrase 'lion' is derived from and . The phrase will also be associated. The popular call Panthera is traceable to the classical Latin phrase 'panthēra' and the historical Greek phrase πάνθηρ 'panther'. Panthera is phonetically just like the Sanskrit phrase पाण्डर pând-ara meaning 'faded yellow, whitish, white'.
Taxonomy
Felis leo become the medical call utilized by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, who defined the lion in his paintings Systema Naturae. The genus call Panthera become coined through German naturalist Lorenz Oken in 1816. Between the mid-18th and mid-twentieth centuries, 26 lion specimens have been defined and proposed as subspecies, of which eleven have been recognized as legitimate in 2005. In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the Cat Specialist Group revised lion taxonomy, and recognises subspecies primarily based totally on consequences of numerous phylogeographic research on lion evolution, namely:
P. l. leo − the nominate lion subspecies consists of the Asiatic lion, the locally extinct Barbary lion, and lion populations in West and northerly components of Central Africa.
P. l. melanochaita − consists of the extinct Cape lion and lion populations in East and Southern African areas.
Genome-extensive statistics of a wild-born historic lion pattern from Sudan confirmed that it clustered with P. l. leo in mtDNA-primarily based totally phylogenies, however with a excessive affinity to P. l. melanochaita. This end result counseled that the taxonomic role of lions in Central Africa can also additionally require revision.
Fossil records
Other lion subspecies or sister species to the current lion existed in prehistoric instances:
P. l. sinhaleyus become a fossil carnassial excavated in Sri Lanka, which become attributed to a lion. It is concept to have end up extinct round 39,000 years ago.
P. leo fossilis become large than the current lion and lived withinside the Middle Pleistocene. Bone fragments have been excavated in caves withinside the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Czech Republic.
Panthera spelaea lived in Eurasia and Beringia at some point of the Late Pleistocene. It have become extinct because of weather warming trendy through eleven,900 years ago. Bone fragments excavated in European, North Asian, Canadian and Alaskan caves imply that it ranged from Europe throughout Siberia into western Alaska. It possibly derived from P. fossilis, and become genetically remoted and extraordinarily wonderful from the lion in Africa and Asia.
P. atrox ranged withinside the Americas from Canada to likely Patagonia. A fossil from Edmonton dates to eleven,355 ± fifty five years ago.
Evolution
Phylogenetic analyses of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from all Felidae species imply that their evolutionary radiation commenced in Asia withinside the Miocene round to . The Panthera lineage is expected to have genetically diverged from the not unusualplace ancestor of the Felidae round to .
The geographic foundation of the Panthera is maximum possibly northern Central Asia.
Results of analyses range withinside the phylogenetic dating of the lion; it become concept to shape a sister organization with the jaguar that diverged, to . Hybridisation among lion and snow leopard ancestors likely persevered till approximately 2.1 million years ago. The current lion become probable extensively disbursed in Africa at some point of the Middle Pleistocene and began out to diverge in sub-Saharan Africa at some point of the Late Pleistocene. Lion populations in East and Southern Africa have become separated from populations in West and North Africa whilst the equatorial rainforest improved 183,500 to 81,800 years ago.
They shared a not unusualplace ancestor probable among 98,000 and 52,000 years ago.
A complete genome-extensive series of lion samples confirmed that samples from West Africa shared alleles with samples from Southern Africa, and samples from Central Africa shared alleles with samples from Asia. This phenomenon suggests that Central Africa become a melting pot of lion populations once they had end up remoted, likely migrating thru corridors withinside the Nile Basin at some point of the early Holocene. The liger is greater than a lion and a tiger, while maximum tigons are enormously small as compared to their dad and mom due to reciprocal gene effects. The leopon is a hybrid among a lion and leopard.
Description
The lion is a muscular, deep-chested cat with a brief, rounded head, a discounted neck and spherical ears. Its fur varies in color from mild buff to silvery grey, yellowish purple and darkish brown. The hues of the underparts are typically lighter. A new-born lion has darkish spots, which fade because the cub reaches adulthood, even though faint spots regularly can also additionally nonetheless be visible at the legs and underparts. The lion is the best member of the cat own circle of relatives that presentations apparent sexual dimorphism. Males have broader heads and a distinguished mane that grows downwards and backwards overlaying maximum of the head, neck, shoulders, and chest. The mane is usually brownish and tinged with yellow, rust and black hairs.
The tail of all lions leads to a darkish, bushy tuft that during a few lions conceals an approximately -long, hard "spine" or "spur" this is shaped from the very last, fused sections of tail bone. The features of the spur are unknown. The tuft is absent at start and develops at round months of age. It is with ease identifiable through the age of 7 months.
Of the dwelling felid species, the lion is rivaled best through the tiger in period, weight, and top on the shoulder. Its cranium may be very just like that of the tiger, even though the frontal place is generally extra depressed and flattened, and has a barely shorter postorbital place and broader nasal openings than the ones of the tiger. Due to the quantity of cranium version withinside the species, generally best the shape of the decrease jaw may be used as a dependable indicator of species.
The length and weight of person lions varies throughout worldwide variety and habitats. Accounts of some people that have been large than common exist from Africa and India.
Mane
The male lion's mane is the maximum recognisable function of the species. It can also additionally have developed round 320,000–190,000 years ago. It begins offevolved developing whilst lions are approximately a yr antique. Mane color varies and darkens with age; studies indicates its color and length are encouraged through environmental elements consisting of common ambient temperature. Mane period seemingly indicators combating achievement in male–male relationships; darker-maned people can also additionally have longer reproductive lives and better offspring survival, even though they go through withinside the freshest months of the yr. The presence, absence, color and length of the mane are related to genetic precondition, sexual adulthood, weather and testosterone production; the guideline of thumb of thumb is that a darker, fuller mane suggests a more fit animal. In Serengeti National Park, lady lions favour adult males with dense, darkish manes as associates. Male lions generally purpose for the backs or hindquarters of rivals, instead of their necks. Cool ambient temperature in European and North American zoos can also additionally bring about a heavier mane.
Almost all male lions in Pendjari National Park are both maneless or have very brief manes. Maneless lions have additionally been stated in Senegal, in Sudan's Dinder Nati
