Lion pictures and videos

[GuateGojira]

(05-20-2015, 01:23 AM)'Pckts' Wrote: Indeed, thats why I think you use Serengetti for Crater lions etc.
Since you can't find actual weights you should just use locations closest to it.
I think @Gaute is in the process of this, but I don't know for sure. Its cool to see either way.

 

I don't want to sound too conservative or too exaggerated, but taking in count all the measurements available from lions in East and Southern Africa, lions in the East measure an average of c.274 cm in total length with a head-body of c.180 cm, while those of the southern area measure about c.276 cm with a head-body length of c.190 cm. In shoulder height, there is not to much difference, about 1 m for the two. It seems that southern lions are relative larger and heavier, but it depend of sub-populations too.

Lions in the West of Africa and India are about the same size and weight, difference is minimum, although incredibly, the sample from India is larger (but it came mostly from hunting records). In the weight issue, they are about the same too, Waza lions are as heavy as those from India, with a larger sample.

Finally, although not included in the image, the lions from the north of Africa (Barbary) are no larger than any of the previous populations and based in the few available measurements and skulls, they are of a size between those from the East and the South of Africa.

This is just a summary of the summary, so it don't discriminate between the little variations between sub-populations, but it will help us to get an idea of the two big lion "subspecies" and its clades, depending of the point of view:

1. Indian-Barbary-West Africa lions - Panthera leo leo - the name Panthera leo persica for India should be used only for "conservation and legal" purposes.
2. Sub-Saharan African lion - Panthera leo melanochaita
    2.1 East Africa
    2.2 Southern Africa
This follow Dubach et al. 2013.
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