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| Taxonomy and etymology | |
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In 1758, Linnaeus first described the species in his work Systema Naturae under the scientific name Felis tigris.[3] In 1929, the British taxonomist Reginald Innes Pocock subordinated the species under the genus Panthera using the scientific name Panthera tigris.[9]
The word Panthera is probably of Oriental origin and retraceable to the Ancient Greek word panther, the Latin word panthera, the Old French word pantere, most likely meaning "the yellowish animal", or from pandarah meaning whitish-yellow. The derivation from Greek pan- ("all") and ther ("beast") may be folk etymology that led to many curious fables.[10]
The word "tiger" is retraceable to the Latin word tigris meaning a spotted tigerhound of Actaeon.[11] The Greek word tigris is possibly derived from a Persian source.[12]
Range of the tiger in 1900 and 1990
Tags:Panthera,Linnaeus,Systema Naturae,Scientific Name,Reginald Innes Pocock,Oriental,Ancient Greek,Latin,Old French,Greek,Folk Etymology,Persian, | |
| Characteristics and evolution | |
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Video from the Disney's Animal Kingdom
The oldest remains of a tiger-like cat, called Panthera palaeosinensis, have been found in China and Java. This species lived about 2 million years ago, at the beginning of the Pleistocene, and was smaller than a modern tiger. The earliest fossils of true tigers are known from Java, and are between 1.6 and 1.8 million years old. Distinct fossils from the early and middle Pleistocene were also discovered in deposits from China, and Sumatra. A subspecies called the Trinil tiger (Panthera tigris trinilensis) lived about 1.2 million years ago and is known from fossils found at Trinil in Java.[13]
Tigers first reached India and northern Asia in the late Pleistocene, reaching eastern Beringia (but not the American Continent), Japan, and Sakhalin. Fossils found in Japan indicate that the local tigers were, like the surviving island subspecies, smaller than the mainland forms. This may be due to the phenomenon in which body size is related to environmental space (see insular dwarfism), or perhaps the availability of prey. Until the Holocene, tigers also lived in Borneo, as well as on the island of Palawan in the Philippines.[14]
Tags:Pleistocene,Subspecies,Asia,Java,Panthera Palaeosinensis,Trinil,Beringia,Japan,Insular Dwarfism,Borneo,Palawan,Philippines,India,China,Sumatra, | |
| Characteristics | |
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Siberian tiger
Tigers are muscular, have powerful forequarters, and especially in males, a large head. The ground coloration of their fur varies between tawny and xanthine orange or cinnamon brown in the southernmost populations, to between ochraceous-orange or zinc orange or capucine orange in the northernmost populations. The face is framed by long hairs that form whiskers, which are more conspicuous in males. The ventral parts are usually white. The body is marked with black or chaetura black stripes of various length, breadth and form. The pupils are circular with yellow irises. The rather small ears are rounded and black on their dorsal side with a conspicuous white central spot.[4] These spots, called ocelli, play an important role in intraspecific communication.[15]
The pattern of stripes is unique to each animal, these unique markings can be used by researchers to identify individuals (both in the wild and captivity), much in the same way that fingerprints are used to identify humans. It seems likely that the function of stripes is camouflage, serving to help tigers conceal themselves amongst the dappled shadows and long grass of their environment as they stalk their prey. The stripe pattern is also found on the skin of the tiger. If a tiger were to be shaved, its distinctive camouflage pattern would be preserved.
Skeleton
The tiger are the most variable in size of all big cats, even more so than the leopard and much more so than lions.[16] The Bengal, Caspian and Siberian tiger subspecies represent the largest living felids, and rank among the biggest felids that ever existed. Females vary in size from 240 to 275 cm (94 to 108 in), weigh 85 to 167 kg (190 to 370 lb) with a greatest length of skull ranging from 268 to 318 mm (10.6 to 12.5 in). Males vary in size from 270 to 330 cm (110 to 130 in), weigh 170 to 306 kg (370 to 670 lb) with a greatest length of skull ranging from 316 to 383 mm (12.4 to 15.1 in). Body size of different populations seems to be correlated with climate—Bergmann's Rule—and can be explained from the point of view of thermoregulation.[4] Large male Siberian tigers can reach a total length of more than 3.5 m (11 ft) "over curves", 3.3 m (11 ft) "between pegs" and a weight of 306 kg (670 lb). This is considerably larger than the size reached by the smallest living tiger subspecies, the Sumatran tiger, which reach a body weight of 75 to 140 kg (170 to 310 lb). At the shoulder, tigers may variously stand 0.7 to 1.22 m (2.3 to 4.0 ft) tall.[5]
Tigresses are smaller than the males in each subspecies, although the size difference between male and female tigers tends to be more pronounced in the larger tiger subspecies, with males weighing up to 1.7 times more than the females.[17] In addition, male tigers have wider forepaw pads than females. Biologists use this difference to determine gender based on tiger tracks.[18] The skull of the tiger is very similar to that of the lion, though the frontal region is usually not as depressed or flattened, with a slightly longer postorbital region. The skull of a lion has broader nasal openings. However, due to the amount of skull variation in the two species, usually, only the structure of the lower jaw can be used as a reliable indicator of species.[19]
Tags:Xanthine,Capucine,Ventral,Chaetura,Pupils,Irises,Ocelli,Fingerprints,Leopard,Bergmann's Rule,Thermoregulation,Siberia, | |
| Subspecies | |
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A Bengal tiger with a cub.
There are nine subspecies of tiger, three of which are extinct. Their historical range in Bangladesh, Siberia, Iran, Afghanistan, India, China, and southeast Asia, including three Indonesian islands is severely diminished today. The surviving subspecies, in descending order of wild population, are:
The Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) lives in India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, and is the most common subspecies with populations estimated at less than 2,500 adult individuals. In 2011 the total population of adult tigers is estimated at 1,520–1,909 in India, 440 in Bangladesh, 155 in Nepal and 75 in Bhutan.[20] It lives in alluvial grasslands, subtropical and tropical rainforests, scrub forests, wet and dry deciduous forests, and mangroves. Male Bengal tigers had a total length, including the tail, of 270 to 310 cm (110 to 120 in), while females range from 240 to 265 cm (94 to 104 in). The weight of males range from 175 to 260 kg (390 to 570 lb), while that of the females range from 100 to 181 kg (220 to 400 lb).[4][21] In northern India and Nepal, tigers tend to be of larger size. Males often average 235 kilograms (520 lb), while females average 141 kilograms (310 lb).[22] In 1972, Project Tiger was founded in India aiming at ensuring a viable population of tigers in the country and preserving areas of biological importance as a natural heritage for the people.[23] But the illicit demand for bones and body parts from wild tigers for use in Traditional Chinese medicine is the reason for the unrelenting poaching pressure on tigers on the Indian subcontinent.[24] Between 1994 and 2009, the Wildlife Protection Society of India has documented 893 cases of tigers killed in India, which is just a fraction of the actual poaching and illegal trade in tiger parts during those years.[25] An area of special conservation interest lies in the Terai Arc Landscape in the Himalayan foothills of northern India and southern Nepal, where 11 protected areas comprising dry forest foothills and tall grass savannas harbor tigers in a 49,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi) landscape. The goals are to manage tigers as a single metapopulation, the dispersal of which between core refuges can help maintain genetic, demographic, and ecological integrity, and to ensure that species and habitat conservation becomes mainstreamed into the rural development agenda. In Nepal, a community-based tourism model has been developed with a strong emphasis on sharing benefits with local people and on the regeneration of degraded forests. The approach has been successful in reducing poaching, restoring habitats, and creating a local constituency for conservation.[26]
Indochinese tiger
The Indochinese Tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti), also called Corbett's tiger, is found in Cambodia, China, Laos, Burma, Thailand, and Vietnam. These tigers are smaller and darker than Bengal tigers: Males weigh from 150–190 kg (330–420 lb) while females are smaller at 110–140 kg (240–310 lb). Their preferred habitat is forests in mountainous or hilly regions. According to government estimates of national tiger populations, the subspecies numbers around a total of 350 individuals.[27] All existing populations are at extreme risk from poaching, prey depletion as a result of poaching of primary prey species such as deer and wild pigs, habitat fragmentation and inbreeding. In Vietnam, almost three-quarters of the tigers killed provide stock for Chinese pharmacies.
Malayan tiger
The Malayan Tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni), exclusively found in the southern part of the Malay Peninsula, was not considered a subspecies in its own right until 2004. The new classification came about after a study by Luo et al. from the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity Study,[28] part of the National Cancer Institute of the United States. According to official government figures, the population in the wild may number around 500 individuals, but is under considerable poaching pressure. The Malayan tiger is the smallest of the mainland tiger subspecies, and the second smallest living subspecies, with males averaging about 120 kg and females about 100 kg in weight. The Malayan tiger is a national icon in Malaysia, appearing on its coat of arms and in logos of Malaysian institutions, such as Maybank.
Sumatran tiger
Siberian tiger
The Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) is found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and is critically endangered.[29] It is the smallest of all living tiger subspecies, with adult males weighing between 100–140 kg (220–310 lb) and females 75–110 kg (170–240 lb).[30] Their small size is an adaptation to the thick, dense forests of the island of Sumatra where they reside, as well as the smaller-sized prey. The wild population is estimated at between 400 and 500, seen chiefly in the island's national parks. Recent genetic testing has revealed the presence of unique genetic markers, indicating that it may develop into a separate species,[specify] if it does not go extinct.[31] This has led to suggestions that Sumatran tigers should have greater priority for conservation than any other subspecies. While habitat destruction is the main threat to existing tiger population (logging continues even in the supposedly protected national parks), 66 tigers were recorded as being shot and killed between 1998 and 2000, or nearly 20% of the total population.
The Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), also known as the Amur tiger, inhabits the Amur-Ussuri region of Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai in far eastern Siberia.[32] It ranks among the biggest felids that have ever existed with a head and body length of 160–180 cm (63–71 in) for females and 190–230 cm (75–91 in) for males, plus a tail of about 60–110 cm (24–43 in) and an average weight of around 227 kg (500 lb) for males. Siberian tigers have thick coats and a paler golden hue and fewer stripes.[4] The heaviest wild Siberian tiger weighed 384 kg (850 lb) but according to Mazák this record is not reliable.[5] In 2005, there were 331–393 adult-subadult Siberian tigers in the region, with a breeding adult population of about 250 individuals. The population has been stable for more than a decade, but partial surveys conducted after 2005 indicate that the Russian tiger population is declining.[33] At the turn of the century, the phylogenetic relationships of tiger subspecies was re-assessed, and a remarkable similarity between the Siberian and Caspian tiger observed indicating that the Siberian tiger population is the genetically closest living relative of the extinct Caspian tiger, and strongly implying a very recent common ancestry for the two groups.[34]
South China tiger
The South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis), also known as the Amoy or Xiamen tiger, is the most critically endangered subspecies of tiger and is listed as one of the 10 most endangered animals in the world.[35] One of the smaller tiger subspecies, the length of the South China tiger ranges from 2.2–2.6 m (87–100 in) for both males and females. Males weigh between 127 and 177 kg (280 and 390 lb) while females weigh between 100 and 118 kg (220 and 260 lb). From 1983 to 2007, no South China tigers were sighted.[36] In 2007 a farmer spotted a tiger and handed in photographs to the authorities as proof.[36][37] The photographs in question, however, were later exposed as fake, copied from a Chinese calendar and digitally altered, and the “sighting” turned into a massive scandal.[38][39][40]
In 1977, the Chinese government passed a law banning the killing of wild tigers, but this may have been too late to save the subspecies, since it is possibly already extinct in the wild. There are currently 59 known captive South China tigers, all within China, but these are known to be descended from only six animals. Thus, the genetic diversity required to maintain the subspecies may no longer exist.[citation needed] Currently, there are breeding efforts to reintroduce these tigers to the wild.[citation needed]
Tags:Russia,Southeast,Grasslands,Endangered,Habitat Destruction,Habitat Fragmentation,Poaching,Extinct,Bangladesh, | |
| Extinct subspecies | |
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A hunted down Bali tiger
A photograph of a Javan tiger.
A captive Caspian tiger, Berlin Zoological Garden 1899
The Bali tiger (Panthera tigris balica) was limited to the Indonesian island of Bali, and was the smallest subspecies with a weight of 90–100 kg (200–220 lb) in males and 65–80 kg (140–180 lb) in females.[5] Bali tigers were hunted to extinction — the last Bali tiger, an adult female, is thought to have been killed at Sumbar Kima, West Bali on 27 September 1937. There is no Bali tiger in captivity. The tiger still plays an important role in Balinese Hinduism.
The Caspian tiger (Panthera tigris virgata), also known as the Hyrcanian tiger or Turan tiger was found in the sparse forest habitats and riverine corridors west and south of the Caspian Sea and west through Central Asia into the Takla-Makan desert of Xinjiang, and has been recorded in the wild until the early 1970s.[41] The Amur tiger is the genetically closest living relative of the Caspian tiger.[34]
The Javan tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) was limited to the island of Java, and has been recorded until the mid-1970s.[42] Javan tigers were larger than Bali tigers; males weighed 100–140 kg (220–310 lb) and females 75–115 kg (170–250 lb).[43] After 1979, there were no more confirmed sightings in the region of Mount Betiri.[44] An expedition to Mount Halimun Salak National Park in 1990 did not yield any definite, direct evidence for the continued existence of tigers.[45]
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| Hybrids | |
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Further information: Panthera hybrid, Liger and Tiglon
Hybridisation among the big cats, including the tiger, was first conceptualised in the 19th century, when zoos were particularly interested in the pursuit of finding oddities to display for financial gain.[46] Lions have been known to breed with tigers (most often the Amur and Bengal subspecies) to create hybrids called ligers and tigons.[47] Such hybrids were once commonly bred in zoos, but this is now discouraged due to the emphasis on conserving species and subspecies. Hybrids are still bred in private menageries and in zoos in China.
The liger is a cross between a male lion and a tigress.[48] Because the lion sire passes on a growth-promoting gene, but the corresponding growth-inhibiting gene from the female tiger is absent, ligers grow far larger than either parent. They share physical and behavioural qualities of both parent species (spots and stripes on a sandy background). Male ligers are sterile, but female ligers are often fertile. Males have about a 50% chance of having a mane, but, even if they do, their manes will be only around half the size of that of a pure lion. Ligers are typically between 10 to 12 feet in length, and can be between 800 and 1,000 pounds or more.[48]
The less common tigon is a cross between the lioness and the male tiger.[49]
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| White tigers | |
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Main article: White tiger
A Bengal white tiger in Bannerghatta National Park in Bangalore
A pair of white tigers at the Singapore Zoo.
There is a well-known mutation that produces the white tiger, technically known as chinchilla albinistic,[50] an animal which is rare in the wild, but widely bred in zoos due to its popularity. Breeding of white tigers will often lead to inbreeding (as the trait is recessive). Many initiatives have taken place in white and orange tiger mating in an attempt to remedy the issue, often mixing subspecies in the process. Such inbreeding has led to white tigers having a greater likelihood of being born with physical defects, such as cleft palates and scoliosis (curvature of the spine).[51][52] Furthermore, white tigers are prone to having crossed eyes (a condition known as strabismus). Even apparently healthy white tigers generally do not live as long as their orange counterparts. Recordings of white tigers were first made in the early 19th century.[53] They can only occur when both parents carry the rare gene found in white tigers; this gene has been calculated to occur in only one in every 10,000 births. The white tiger is not a separate sub-species, but only a colour variation; since the only white tigers that have been observed in the wild have been Bengal tigers[54] (and all white tigers in captivity are at least part Bengal), it is commonly thought that the recessive gene that causes the white colouring is probably carried only by Bengal tigers, although the reasons for this are not known.[51][55] Nor are they in any way more endangered than tigers are generally, this being a common misconception. Another misconception is that white tigers are albinos, despite the fact that pigment is evident in the white tiger's stripes. They are distinct not only because of their white hue; they also have blue eyes.
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