Panthera leo leo
Lion subspecies / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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]
Panthera leo leo | |
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Asiatic lions in Gir Forest National Park | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Suborder: | Feliformia |
Family: | Felidae |
Subfamily: | Pantherinae |
Genus: | Panthera |
Species: | |
Subspecies: | P. l. leo |
Trinomial name | |
Panthera leo leo | |
Synonyms[1] | |
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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]