Amur Tigers

[return 80]

(02-28-2025, 04:27 AM)peter Wrote:

(02-28-2025, 01:09 AM)return 80 Wrote: Detail information of a large wild male Siberian Tiger

Before my application is approved by Mods, I would like to send a data here. If any other friends have seen this data and are interested, they can also post it to 'On the edge of extinction - The Tiger (Panthera tigris)'

Catalog:09725 

*This image is copyright of its original author

Basic information:

This is an adult male tiger purchased in March 1957 in Yichun County, Heilongjiang Province, China. It is currently housed in the Institute of Zoology, Academia Sinica

Size:

As far as I know,this male have the third largest wild tiger skull from Northeast China(Only slightly smaller than the B-3 and B-4 reported by Mazák) and it is the largest Tiger skull in <FAUNA SINICA> Vol.8:Carnivora.

specimen information:

First reported in<Survey Report on Mammals in Northeast China>(《东北兽类调查报告》),The zygomatic breadth is large and have very strong sagittal crest. The upper and lower canine teeth are robust, the mandible is very heavy. the nasal is relatively short.

Here are main Skull measurements of this specimen(Because this specimen has been measured multiple times, I have selected some of the data):

1.Greatest skull length(Prosthion–inion):
366.0mm

2.condylobasal length (Prosthion–Occipital condyles):
332.5mm

3.basal length (Prosthion–Basion):
297.5mm

4.Palatal length (Prosthion–Staphylion)
163.5mm

5.Rostral breadth: 102.5mm

6.Interorbital breadth: 66.6mm

7.zygomatic breadth: 260.0mm

8.Mastoidal breadth: 140.4mm

9.upper dental length(i¹–Pm⁴,measure along with the palatine middle line):124.0mm

10.Palatal width between P4: 129.9mm

Here are the main Body measurements.The measure method is showed in <Survey Report on Mammals in Northeast China>.All mammals were measured in straight line.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Headbody length a(straight line):1800mm

tail length b(straight line):1070mm

hindfoot length c:420mm

ear length d:120mm

SATURN

Very interesting information. Many thanks! 

In one of his publications, J.H. Mazak referred to the skull of a wild adult male Amur tiger with a total greatest length of 366 mm. If I remember correctly, the skull was measured in a scientific institute in a large city in northeastern China. Could have been Harbin. Is this the same skull? 

In the same publication, J.H. Mazak also mentioned a skull of an adult Amur tigress with a greatest total length of 329 mm. Would you be able to find that skull?

Did you already contact Sanjay or BAO for permission to post in the tiger extinction thread?

Some years ago, I posted the table below in the tiger extinction thread. The one who first posted the table (KTKC, a member of the former AVA forum) said it was from a Chinese book. The tiger you discussed in your post seems very close to tiger -6- in that table:

*This image is copyright of its original author

Hi peter,

Thanks for your reply.I will contact Sanjay or BAO as soon as I can.But I am a bit unfamiliar with the communication among forum users, which may take some time

1.The 09725

Yes,the Tiger-06 in KTKC's table and the 366mm mentioned by Ji H. mazák are same individual(09725),this specimen is currently housed in Institute of Zoology, Academia Sinica(中国科学院动物研究所),Beijing,In the capital of the PRC.

2.The 329mm Amur tigress skull

The 329mm old adult Amur tigress skull is a no catalog number skull which housed in Zhejiang natural history museum(Hangzhou).It seems no any record in Chinese mammals monographs or Tiger research books,only mentioned by Ji H. mazák.

In an interview a few years ago, Ji H. mazák stated that he had visited all zoological institutions in China that had collections of tiger skulls and conducted measurements, along with Prof Dr. Colin P. Groves provided his Dr. VRATISLAV MAZÁK's original data. He has a total of 320 tiger skulls data, and he may also be the person who knows the best about the collection of tiger skulls in major zoological institutions in China.

Therefore, he could mention the 329mm skull that was not mentioned in previous Chinese publications

*This image is copyright of its original author

I once visit the Zhejiang natural history museum,and briefly volunteered at the Zhejiang Natural History Museum at past.But I can't access this skull now, maybe one day in the future I can apply to measure this skull.

This no number skull seems the largest wild tigress skull record.As far as I know,only a Nepal female could compare with it(AMNH 54459,GSL330mm ZW 242mm,see Adam Hartstone-Rose et al.2014 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0113437.t001).Adam Hartstone-Rose's research also include the heaviest wild Amur tigress's skull(AMNH 85405,167kg,Ussuri region).The interesting thing is that this skull's greatest length only 286mm,smaller than the average female skull GSL.

KTKC seems to be a tiger enthusiast who is very familiar with and knowledgeable about Chinese publications.His table's data are came from the different Chinese mammals monographs and Tiger research books.But these merged data may not have been measured using the same method.

For example,the nasal length of 09725 is 90mm,but also have 116.5mm record.Or perhaps the initial report of Tiger-04 did not mention the measurement method for its Headbody length.These data are all correct, but the author did not provide specific details in the main text, so there may be some misleading confusion when citing them.

3.Some detailed information of KTKC's table

There several individuals in KTKC's table are described in detail,I can give two simple examples.

Tiger-01 South China Tiger(P.t.amoyensis)

catalog number:6400129

This South China Tiger was reportedly shot dead by local villagers in June 1964 for endangering their personal safety. The location is Foping County, Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province, China.

skull and skin were housed in Shaanxi Institute of Zoology.

This individual is the most reliable and largest wild individual recorded in the South China Tigers. Skull size(346 × 262.5mm), weight recorded (even some reports suggest a weight of 225kg, although I believe 190kg is more reliable), and body size measurements are all the largest.In addition, it is also the northernmost individual record of the distribution of South China tigers and the last wild record of South China tigers in Shaanxi Province.

It is also one of the samples for recent research on the ancient genome of South China tigers (see https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02185-8)

This individual has left many images in many Chinese publications and on the Chinese Internet. Here are some photos of it's skull and skin.

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Tiger-04

This male Amur was shot and killed by poachers in Heilongjiang Province, northeastern China on November 14, 1989. When discovered by relevant protection agencies, it had already died.The inner thigh and the distal part of tail were removed by poachers, and it has now been made into a taxidermy specimen for exhibition at the Heilongjiang Natural History Museum.

The age of this tiger is 3.7-5 years old, and it weighed within 48 hours after dissection. The total weight of the tiger corpse is 161079.05g.

So, in my opinion, if the stolen parts and lost blood are added to this tiger, its weight while still alive may be around 170kg or somewhat more.

Detailed anatomical literature also provides other relevant skeletal data and weight besides the skull. Here, I list some main data. The data for limb bones is the average size of the left and right sides


Appendicular skeleton length: 
humerus 341mm
scapula 270.5mm
ulna 353mm
radius 282mm
femur 396.5mm
tibia 344mm
fibula 310mm
pelvic 320mm

Vertebral length: 
cervical 350mm
thoracic 545mm
lumbar 445mm Reply