Lion

:"Lions" redirects here. For the album by the Black Crowes, see Lions (album).

Lion Subspecies

The major differences between lion subspecies are size, mane appearance and location. Some of forms listed below are not regarded as distinct subspecies by the majority of taxonomists. Genetic evidence suggests that all modern lions derived from one common ancestor only ca. 55,000 years ago, so all African lions might be lumped into one subspecies.

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• Panthera leo azandica - North East Congo lion.
• Panthera leo bleyenberghi - Katanga lion.
• Panthera leo hollisteri - Congo lion.
• Panthera leo krugeri - South African lion.
• Panthera leo leo - Barbary lion; extinct in the wild. This was the largest of the lion subspecies, which ranged from Morocco to Egypt. The last wild Barbary lion was killed in Morocco in 1922 due to excessive hunting. Barbary lions were kept by Roman emperors, who ordered the capture of literally thousands of individuals to fight in the gladiator arenas. Roman notables, including Sulla, Pompey, and Julius Caesar, often ordered the mass slaughter of Barbary lions - up to 400 at a time. http://www.pothos.org/alexander.asp?paraID=103&keyword_id=6&title=Lions
• Panthera leo massaicus - Massai lion.
• Panthera leo melanochaita - Cape lion; extinct in 1860.
• Panthera leo nubica - East African lion.
• Panthera leo persica - Asiatic lion. 200 currently exist in the Gir Forest of India. Once widespread from Greece and Turkey to Bangladesh, but large prides and daylight activity made it easier to poach than tigers or leopards.
• Panthera leo roosevelti - Abyssinian lion.
• Panthera leo senegalensis - West African lion, or Senegal lion.
• Panthera leo somaliensis - Somali lion.
• Panthera leo verneyi - Kalahari lion.