Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia)

[Sanju]

The lion's closest relatives are the other species of the genus Panthera; the tiger, snow leopard, jaguar, and leopard. Results of phylogenetic studies published in 2006 and 2009 indicate that the jaguar and the lion belong to one sister group that diverged about 2.06 million years ago. (http://science.sciencemag.org/content/311/5757/73) ["Phylogeny and evolution of cats (Felidae)"]
Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids

Results of later studies published in 2010 and 2011 indicate that the leopard and the lion belong to the same sister group, which diverged between 1.95 and 3.10 million years ago.
https://web.archive.org/web/201603051316...logeny.pdf
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...via%3Dihub
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20138224
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3189913/
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/articl...ne.0025483

Quote:Hybridisation between lion and snow leopard ancestors, however, may have continued until about 2.1 million years ago.

The mitochondrial genomes of snow leopard and lion was more similar to each other than to other Panthera species, indicating that at some point in their history, the female progeny of male ancestors of modern snow leopards and female ancestors of modern lions interbred with male ancestors of modern snow leopards.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4691742/
https://www.livescience.com/53389-cat-li...eding.html Reply