Panthera

***Panthera*** is a genus o the faimily Felidae (cats), that contains fower weel-kent livin species: the teeger, the lion, the jaguar, an the leopard. The genus comprises aboot hauf o the Pantherinae subfaimily, the big cats. The wird ***panther***, whiles technically referrin tae aw memmers o the genus, is commonly uised tae specifically designate the black panther, a melanistic jaguar or leopard, an the Florida panther, a subspeshie o cougar (*Puma concolor coryi*).

## Species, subspecies, an populations
Thare hae been mony subspecies o aw fower *Panthera* species suggestit; houiver, mony o the leopard an lion subspecies are questionable. Recently it haes been proposed that aw sub-Saharan populations o leopards are o the same leopard subspecies an that aw sub-Saharan populations o lions likwise belang tae the same lion subspecies, as thay dinnae hae sufficient genetic distinction atween them. Some prehistoric lion subspecies hae been descrieved frae historical evidence an fossils. Thay mey hae been separate species.

The "black panther" isnae a distinct species but is juist the common name for black (melanistic) specimens o the genus, maist eften encountered in jaguar an leopard speshies.

### Taxa
(Extinct speshies an subspeshies are indicatit wi the seembol †)

*Genus ***Panthera***
***Panthera atrox* - American lion or North American cave lion †
***[[Panthera crassidens]]* (probably identical wi anither felid taxon) †
***Panthera gombaszoegensis* (European jaguar) †
***Panthera leo* (lion)
****Panthera leo spelaea* - Eurasie cave lion †
****Panthera leo azandica* - North East Congo lion
****Panthera leo bleyenberghi* - Soothwast African Lion or Katanga lion
****Panthera leo europaea* - European lion †
****Panthera leo fossilis* - Early Middle Pleistocene European cave lion †
****Panthera leo hollisteri* - Congo lion
****Panthera leo kamptzi*
****Panthera leo krugeri* - Transvaal Lion, Sooth African Lion, or Sootheast African lion
****Panthera leo leo* - Barbary lion, Biblical lion, Middle Eastern lion; extinct in the wild
****Panthera leo melanochaita* - Cape lion †
****Panthera leo massaica* - Masai lion
****Panthera leo nubica* - East African lion - synonym for *P. leo*, nae a subspeshies
****Panthera leo nyanzae*
****Panthera leo persica* - Asiatic lion
****Panthera leo roosevelti* - Abyssinie lion - synonym for *P. l. massaica*, nae a subspeshies
****Panthera leo sinhaleyus* - Sri Lanka lion or Ceylon lion. †
****Panthera leo somaliensis* - Somali lion - synonym for *P. leo*, nae a subspeshies
****Panthera leo senegalensis* - Wast African lion, or Senegal lion
****Panthera leo vereshchagini* - East Siberian an Beringian cave lion †
****Panthera leo verneyi* - Kalahari lion - currently nae synonym
***Panthera onca* (jaguar)
****Panthera onca arizonensis*
****Panthera onca centralis*
****Panthera onca goldmani*
****Panthera onca hernandesii*
****Panthera onca onca*
****Panthera onca palustris*
****Panthera onca paraguensis*
****Panthera onca peruviana*
****Panthera onca veracrucis*
****[[Panthera onca mesembrina]]* - Pleistocene Sooth American jaguar †
****[[Panthera onca augusta]]* - Pleistocene North American jaguar†
***[[Panthera palaeosinensis]]* (Pleistocene pantherine - probably ancestral tae the teeger) †
***[[Panthera pardoides]]* (a primitive pantherine - probably identical wi *[[Panthera schaubi]]*) †
***Panthera pardus* (leopard)
****Panthera pardus adersi* (Zanzibar leopard) - synonym for *P. p. pardus*, nae a subspeshies
****Panthera pardus delacouri* (Indo-Cheenese leopard)
****Panthera pardus fusca* (Indie leopard)
****Panthera pardus jarvesi* (Judean Desert leopard) - nae even a synonym
****Panthera pardus japonensis* (North Cheenae leopard)
****Panthera pardus jarvisi* (Sinai leopard) - synonym for *P. p. nimr*, nae a subspeshies
****Panthera pardus kotiya* (Sri Lanka leopard)
****Panthera pardus melas* (Java leopard)
****Panthera pardus nimr* (Arabie leopard)
****Panthera pardus orientalis* (Amur leopard)
****Panthera pardus panthera* (Barbary leopard) - synonym for *P. p. pardus*, nae a subspeshies
****Panthera pardus pardus* (African leopard)
****Panthera pardus pernigra* (Nepalese leopard) - synonym for *P. p. fusca*, nae a subspeshies
****Panthera pardus saxicolor* (Persian leopard)
*** *Panthera pardus sickenbergi* (European leopard) †
****Panthera pardus tulliana* (Anatolie leopard)
***[[Panthera schaubi|Panthera (Viretailurus) schaubi]]* (Owen's panther † - mey nae be a pantherine)
***[[Panthera schreuderi]]* (prehistoric felid † - probably junior synonym o European jaguar )
***Panthera tigris* (teeger)
****Panthera tigris altaica* (Siberie teeger)
****Panthera tigris amoyensis* (Sooth Cheenae teeger)
****Panthera tigris balica* (Balinese teeger) †
****Panthera tigris corbetti* (Indocheenese teeger)
****Panthera tigris jacksoni* (Malayan teeger) 
****Panthera tigris sondaica* (Javan teeger) †
****Panthera tigris sumatrae* (Sumatran teeger)
****Panthera tigris tigris* (Bengal teeger)
****Panthera tigris trinilensis* (Trinil teeger) †
****Panthera tigris virgata* (Caspian teeger) †
***Panthera toscana* (Tuscany lion or Tuscany jaguar † - probably junior synonym o European jaguar)
***Panthera uncia* or *Uncia uncia* (Snaw leopard)
***[[Panthera youngi]]* (a prehistoric Cheenese lion-lik felid) †
***[[Panthera zdanskyi]]* †

## References