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Cape Lion

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Mammals

                    iCape Lion

                             Conservation status

   Extinct
            Scientific classification

   Kingdom:    Animalia
   Phylum:     Chordata
   Class:      Mammalia
   Order:      Carnivora
   Family:     Felidae
   Genus:      Panthera
   Species:    P. leo
   Subspecies: P. l. melanochaitus

                               Trinomial name

   Panthera leo melanochaitus
   Ch. H. Smith, 1842

   The Cape Lion Panthera leo melanochaitus is an extinct subspecies of
   lion.

   Cape "black-maned" Lions ranged along the Cape of Africa on the
   southern tip of the continent. The Cape Lion was not the only
   subspecies living in South Africa, and its exact range is unclear. Its
   stronghold was Cape Province, in the area around Cape Town. The last
   Cape Lion seen in the province was killed in 1858.

   Cape Lions were similar in size to African Lions but slightly lighter.
   The largest Cape lions weighed around 270 kg (594 lbs), while the
   largest African lions weigh about 310 kg (682 lbs).

   As with the Barbary lion, several people and institutions claim to have
   Cape lions. In 2000, possible specimens were found in captivity in
   Russia and brought to South Africa for breeding. There is much
   confusion between Cape lions and other dark-coloured long-maned captive
   lions. Lions in captivity today have been bred and cross-bred from
   lions captured in Africa long ago, with examples from all of these
   'subspecies'. Mixed together, hybridised, most of today's captive lions
   have a 'soup' of genes from many different lions.

   Early authors justified ‘‘distinct’’ subspecific status of the Cape
   lion on believe that the seemingly fixed external morphology of the
   Cape lions (male’s huge mane extending behind shoulders and covering
   belly, and the distinctive black tips to the lion's ears). However,
   nowadays it is known that various extrinsic factors, including the
   ambient temperature, influence the colour and size of a lion’s mane.
   Results of mitochondrial DNA research published in 2006 do not support
   the ‘‘distinctness’’ of the Cape lion. It now seems probable that the
   Cape lion was only the southernmost population of the extant southern
   African lion.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Lion"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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