Lion

Posted December 22nd, 2007 by Anonymous

The lion ( Panthera leo ) is a member of the family Felidae and one of four "big cats" in the genus Panthera . Reaching 272 kg (600 lb), it is the second-largest cat after the tiger. They currently exist in the wild in sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia with a critically endangered remnant population in northwest India, having disappeared from North Africa, the Middle East and western Asia in historic times. Until the late Pleistocene (about 10,000 years ago), the lion was the most widespread large land mammal beside man. They were found in most of Africa, much of Eurasia from western Europe to India and the Bering land bridge and in the Americas from Yukon to Peru.

Lions live for approximately 10–14 years in the wild, while in captivity they can live over 20 years. They typically inhabit savanna and grassland, although they may take to bush and forest. Lions are unusually social compared to other cats. A lion pride consists of related females and offspring and a small number of dominant males. Groups of female lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. The lion is an apex and keystone predator, though will resort to scavenging if the opportunity arises. While lions, in general, do not selectively hunt humans, some have been known to become man-eaters and seek human prey.

The lion is a vulnerable species, having seen a possibly irreversible population decline of 30 to 50% over the past two decades in its African range; populations are untenable outside designated reserves and national parks. Although the cause of the decline is not well-understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are currently the greatest causes of concern. Lions have been kept in menageries since Roman times and have been a key species sought after and exhibited in zoos the world over since the late 18th century. Zoos are cooperating worldwide in breeding programs for the endangered Asiatic subspecies.

The male lion is highly distinctive and is easily recognized by its mane. The lion, particularly the face of the male, is one of the most widely recognized animal symbols in human culture. Depictions have existed from the Upper Paleolithic period, with carvings and paintings from the Lascaux and Chauvet Caves, through virtually all ancient and medieval cultures where they historically occurred. It has been extensively depicted in literature, in sculptures, in paintings, on national flags, and in contemporary films and literature.

Naming and etymology

The lion's name, similar in many languages, derives from the Latin leo , and before that the Ancient Greek leōn /λεων. The Hebrew word lavi (לָבִיא) may also be related, as well as the Ancient Egyptian rw . It was one of the many species originally described, as Felis leo , by Linnaeus in his 18th century work, Systema Naturae . The generic component of its scientific designation, Panthera leo , is often presumed to derive from Greek pan- ("all") and ther ("beast"), but this may be a folk etymology. Although it came into English through the classical languages, panthera is probably of East Asian origin, meaning "the yellowish animal," or "whitish-yellow".

Taxonomy and evolution

The oldest lion-like fossil is known from Laetoli in Tanzania and is perhaps 3.5 million years old; some scientists have identified the material as Panthera leo . These records are not well-substantiated, and all that can be said is that they pertain to a Panthera -like felid. The oldest confirmed records of Panthera leo in Africa are about 2 million years younger. The closest relatives of the lion are the other Panthera species: the tiger, the jaguar and the leopard. Morphological and genetic studies reveal that the tiger was the first of these recent species to diverge. About 1.9 million years ago the Jaguar branched off the remaining group, which contained ancestors of the leopard and lion. The Lion and leopard subsequently separated about 1 to 1.25 million years ago from each other.

Panthera leo itself evolved in Africa between 1 million and 800,000 years ago before spreading throughout the Holarctic region; It appeared in Europe for the first time 700,000 years ago with the subspecies Panthera leo fossilis at Isernia in Italy. From this lion derived the later Cave lion ( Panthera leo spelaea ), which appeared about 300,000 years ago. During the upper Pleistocene the lion spread to North and South America, and developed into Panthera leo atrox , the American lion. Lions died out in northern Eurasia and America at the end of the last glaciation, about 10,000 years ago; this may have been secondary to the extinction of megafauna.

Subspecies

Traditionally 12 recent subspecies of lion were recognized, the largest of which has been recognised as the Barbary Lion. The major differences between these subspecies are location, mane appearance, size and distribution. Because these characteristics are very insignificant and show a high individual variability, most of these forms were debatable and probably invalid; additionally, they were often based upon zoo material of unknown original who may have had "striking, but abnormal" morphological characteristics. Today only eight subspecies are usually accepted, but one of these, the Cape lion formerly described as Panthera leo melanochaita is probably invalid. Even the remaining seven subspecies might be too much; mitochondrial variation in recent African lions is modest, which suggests that all sub-Saharan lions could be considered a single subspecies, possibly divided in two main clades: one to the west of the Great Rift Valley and the other to the east. Lions from Tsavo in Eastern Kenya are much closer genetically to lions in Transvaal (South Africa), than to those in the Aberdare Range in Western Kenya.

Recent

Eight recent subspecies are recognized today:

P. l. persica , known as the Asiatic- or South Asian, Persian or Indian lion , was once widespread from Turkey, across the Middle East, to Pakistan, India and even Bangladesh. However, large prides and daylight activity made it easier to poach than tigers or leopards; now around 300 exist in and near the Gir Forest of India.
P. l. leo , known as the Barbary lion , is extinct in the wild due to excessive hunting, although captive individuals may still exist. This was the largest of the lion subspecies, at 3–3.5m approx., and weighing over 150 kilograms and more. They ranged from Morocco to Egypt. The last wild Barbary lion was killed in Morocco in 1922.
P. l. senegalensis , known as the West African lion , is found in Western Africa, from Senegal to Nigeria.
P. l. azandica , known as the North East Congo lion , is found in the Northeastern parts of the Congo.
P. l. nubica , known as the East African- or Massai lion , is found in East Africa, from Ethiopia and Kenya to Tanzania and Mozambique.
P. l. bleyenberghi , known as the Southwest African- or Katanga lion . It is found in southwestern Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola, Katanga (Zaire).
P. l. krugeri , known as the Southeast African- or Transvaal lion , is found in the Transvaal region of South eastern Africa, including Kruger National Park.
P. l. melanochaita , known as the Cape lion , became extinct in the wild around 1860. Results of mitochondrial DNA research do not support the status as a distinct subspecies. It seems probable that the Cape lion was only the southernmost population of the extant southern African lion.

Prehistoric

Several additional subspecies of lion existed in prehistoric times:

P. l. atrox , known as the American lion or American cave lion , was abundant in the Americas from Alaska to Peru in the Pleistocene Epoch until about 10,000 years ago. This form as well as the cave lion are sometimes considered to represent separate species, but recent phylogenetic studies lead to suggest, that they are in fact subspecies of the lion ( Panthera leo ). One of the largest lion subspecies to have existed, its body length is estimated to have been 1.6–2.5 m (5–8 ft).
P. l. fossilis , known as the Early Middle Pleistocene European cave lion , flourished about 500,000 years ago; fossils have been recovered from Germany and Italy.

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