Panthera - Species, Subspecies, and Populations

Species, Subspecies, and Populations

There have been many subspecies of all four Panthera species suggested; however, many of the leopard and lion subspecies are questionable. Recently it has been proposed that all sub-Saharan populations of leopards are of the same leopard subspecies and that all sub-Saharan populations of lions likewise belong to the same lion subspecies, as they do not have sufficient genetic distinction between them. Some prehistoric lion subspecies have been described from historical evidence and fossils. They may have been separate species.

The "black panther" is not a distinct species but is just the common name for black (melanistic) specimens of the genus, most often encountered in jaguar and leopard species.