Central African lion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Leo1pard (talk | contribs) at 13:48, 30 July 2017 (→‎Taxonomic history: Yobot.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Central African lion
Congo lions in Virunga National Park
Cameroon lions in Mefou National Park
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Pantherinae
Genus: Panthera
Species:
P. leo
Binomial name
Panthera leo
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies
Panthera leo subspecies:
P. l. leo
P. l. melanochaita

Central African lions[1][2] mostly belong to the subspecies Panthera leo leo, with some in Congo-Kinshasa belonging to Panthera leo melanochaita.[3][4]

Taxonomic history

Initially, a number of lion subspecies were described for Africa, particularly the central region. Lions in northern Cameroon and the regions south of Lake Chad were given the name P. l. kamptzi by Matschie (1900). Those in the northeastern part of Belgian Congo were given the name P. l. azandica by Allen (1924), which he admitted to be closely related to P. l. massaicus.[5] Those in Katanga Province were given the name P. l. bleyenberghi by Lönnberg (1914).[6] Eventually, P. l. kamptzi was subsumed to P. l. senegalensis.[2]

In 2017, after genetic tests, African lion populations got subsumed by the IUCN to two groups: P. l. leo and P. l. melanochaita. P. l. senegalensis, whose range was described as being from Central to Western Africa,[2][5] got subsumed to P. l. leo, given its relationship with the lions in Northern Africa, besides those in Asia.[3][4] Lions in Eastern and Southern Africa, including P. l. azandica, P. l. massaica and P. l. bleyenberghi,[2][5] got subsumed to P. l. melanochaita, due to them being of a different genetic clade to Northern African and Asiatic lions.[3][4]

Distribution of populations

Range map of the commonly accepted subspecies of the lion (Panthera leo) in the second half of the 20th century.

In Central Africa, a population of 100-400 lions lives in Bénoué ecosystem in Cameroon. Smaller populations in exist in Waza National Park in Cameroon and Zakouma National Park in Chad. Within the Central African Republic, there are perhaps only about 150-500 lions left. Other estimates count 1,252 lions within the country, but numbers in Central Africa are generally thought to be unreliable.[7][8]

In Gabon, the presence of lions in Batéké Plateau National Park at present is doubtful.[9] A lion was shot in the plateau in 1999.[7]

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, there are about 175 lions in the area of the Garamba National Park, and 60 in Virunga National Park. The latter form a contiguous population of about 210 with lions in Uganda.[7][8][10]

See also

References

  1. ^ Pocock, R. I. (1939). The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia. – Volume 1. Taylor and Francis Ltd., London. Pp. 210–222.
  2. ^ a b c d Haas, S.K.; Hayssen, V.; Krausman, P.R. (2005). "Panthera leo" (PDF). Mammalian Species. 762: 1–11. doi:10.1644/1545-1410(2005)762[0001:PL]2.0.CO;2.
  3. ^ a b c Bertola, L.D., Jongbloed, H., Van Der Gaag, K.J., De Knijff, P., Yamaguchi, N., Hooghiemstra, H., Bauer, H., Henschel, P., White, P.A., Driscoll, C.A. and Tende, T. (2016). Phylogeographic patterns in Africa and High Resolution Delineation of genetic clades in the Lion (Panthera leo). Scientific reports 6: 30807.
  4. ^ a b c "A revised taxonomy of the Felidae. Pantherinae" (PDF). Cat News. Special Issue 11: 76. {{cite journal}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter |authors= (help)
  5. ^ a b c Allen, G. M. (1939). A Checklist of African Mammals. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College 83: 1–763.
  6. ^ Heptner, V. G.; Sludskij, A. A. (1992) [1972]. "Lion". Mlekopitajuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza. Moskva: Vysšaia Škola [Mammals of the Soviet Union. Volume II, Part 2. Carnivora (Hyaenas and Cats)]. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation. pp. 95–202.
  7. ^ a b c Bauer, H.; Van Der Merwe, S. (2004). "Inventory of free-ranging lions Panthera leo in Africa". Oryx. 38 (1): 26–31. doi:10.1017/S0030605304000055.
  8. ^ a b Riggio, J., Jacobson, A., Dollar, L., Bauer, H., Becker, M., Dickman, A., Funston, P., Groom, R., Henschel, P., de Iongh, H., Lichtenfeld, L., Pimm, S. (2012). The size of savannah Africa: a lion's (Panthera leo) view. Biodiversity Conservation 22(1): 17–35.
  9. ^ Henschel, P.H., Azani, D.E., Burton, C.O., Malanda, G., Saidu, Y.O., Sam, M.O., Hunter, L.U. (2010). Lion status updates from five range countries in West and Central Africa. Cat News52: 34–39.
  10. ^ Sunquist, M. E.; F. C. Sunquist (2009). "Family Felidae (Cats)". In D. E. Wilson; R. A. Mittermeier (eds.). Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 137 ff. ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |last-author-amp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Central_African_lion&oldid=793077437"