There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
Body size of the B.A.C. (Bengal, Amur and Caspian) tigers:
I am suffering of insomnia, or maybe is because tomorrow is the Independence day of my country and I have a day off, but I am not going to waste time. So, I manage to join the data of the three largest tiger subspecies/populations (depending of your belief) in one single comparative image. Check it out:
*This image is copyright of its original author
As you can see, the three tiger groups are very close in average size (although I suspect that Caspian tigers are shorter, like the Sub-Saharan African lions), but there is no doubt that in the extremes, Bengal tigers top the scale and the tape. I also add the largest skulls reported in literature, in order to provide a "plus". On the other hand, I excluded the chest girths and I provided just an overall average weight, in order to save space, but if you see the original images there is no problem.
On the skull situation, I decided to included the figure of 385 mm for the largest Caspian skull, quoted by Heptner & Sludskii (1992). I am aware that the other measurements don't fit (ZW of 205 mm and CBL of 305 mm). However, if the real measurements were 250 and 350 mm respectively? Maybe, if in some way, we could found the original source in Russian, we could see the real document.