The Java Tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica)

[GuateGojira]

Body size of the Island tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) - preliminary:

As part of my project of scaling all the subspecies/populations of the great cats, tigers are fundamental in this goal. However, I have found a reef that is impossible to avoid: the data of island tigers is ridiculous scanty! In fact, I have found that:

1. The ranges for the Sumatran tigers stated by Mazák (1981) are estimations, obtained from the reported specimens of Sody and some skins measurements, mostly for the females. I had not foudn where he get the weights that he reported, but the figures from wild specimens captured in modern days fit very well.

2. For Javanese tigers, he only accepted one total length (248 cm) and discarded the large male of Sody (270 cm, Skull of 331 in GSL), but a comparison between skull length and body size with other tiger specimens measured "between pegs" shows that the size of this male is plausible and fit very well with the values of the other males (ratio of 5.44, for a mean of 5.40 overall). Only one weight is know (142 kg, male), all others are estimations.

3. There are no reliable measurements or weights of Bali tigers available, just one female measured but Mazák believed that, based on its skull size, the reported measurements were taken "over curves" or from a skin. There is a "new" size from a large specimen of Gondol and the few pictures of relative large males, show that this population was as large as the Sumatran tigers. The estimations from Mazák, specially for males, are certainly underestimations.

Based on this, I decided the make an unique (and probably very controversial) comparative image, which will summarize all the Island tigers data like a "single subspecies", following the last studies of 2015. Of course, the data on skulls will be the main focus, but I will post also the few body sizes reported and adjusted like Mazák done in its moment.

@peter, I need your help. As you have the book of Mazák "Der Tiger", I will like to know if is possible to you to post the average figures of the skull size of the Sumatran, Javan and Bali tigers (males and females, with ranges and sample size) that he measured. I know that J. H. Mazák had published his own data in 2006, but I will like to see that one of V. Mazák too. In advance, thanks for any help. Reply