Lion
The lion is a species in the family Felidae and a member of the genus Panthera. In the Pleistocene, the lion ranged throughout Eurasia, Africa and North America. Today it has been reduced to fragmented populations in sub-Saharan Africa and one critically endangered population in western India. Lion populations in African countries have declined by about 43% since the early 1990s.
About Lion in brief
The lion is a species in the family Felidae and a member of the genus Panthera. It has a muscular, deep-chested body, short, rounded head, round ears, and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult male lions have a prominent mane. In the Pleistocene, the lion ranged throughout Eurasia, Africa and North America. Today it has been reduced to fragmented populations in sub-Saharan Africa and one critically endangered population in western India. Lion populations in African countries have declined by about 43% since the early 1990s. The lion is an apex and keystone predator; although some lions scavenge when opportunities occur and have been known to hunt humans, the species typically does not. Lions have been kept in menageries since the time of the Roman Empire. They have been a key species sought for exhibition in zoological gardens across the world since the late 18th century. In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the Cat Specialist Group revised lion taxonomy, and recognises two subspecies based on results of several phylogeographic studies on lion evolution. Other lion subspecies or sister species existed in prehistoric times. Phylogenetic analyses of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from all Felidae species indicate that their evolutionary radiation began in the Miocene around 45 to 8. million years ago to 16.6 million years ago. The Panthera lineage is estimated to have diverged from the common ancestor of lions in Central Africa 46 to 46 million years years ago.
Lion samples from some parts of the Ethiopian Highlands cluster genetically with those from Cameroon and Chad, while lions from other areas of Ethiopia cluster with samples from East Africa. Researchers assume that the lion sample from Sudan showed high affinity to P. lo in mtDNA, but with a high affinity for P. laita in melanochies, which is a subspecies of P. laita. The word ‘lion’ is derived from Latin: leo and Ancient Greek: λέων. The word lavi may also be related. The generic name Panthera is traceable to the classical Latin word ‘panthēra’ and the ancient Greek word πάνθηρ ‘panther’, which means ‘pale yellow, whitish, white’ The lion has been extensively depicted in sculptures and paintings, on national flags, and in contemporary films and literature. A lion pride consists of a few adult males, related females and cubs. Groups of female lions usually hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. The species is usually more diurnal than other big cats, but when persecuted it adapts to being active at night and at twilight. Lions were prominent in the Upper Paleolithic period; carvings and paintings from the Lascaux and Chauvet Caves in France have been dated to 17,000 years ago, and depictions occurred in virtually all ancient and medieval cultures that coincided with the lion’s former and current ranges.
You want to know more about Lion?
This page is based on the article Lion published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 01, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
