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Comparing Cats: A Discussion of Similarities & Differences

United States Pckts Offline
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Finland Shadow Offline
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I noticed this blog and found it interesting to read, from 2010.

https://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2010/09/06/ing-lions-and-tigers

It concerns this documentary and episode. Posted here before but if someone haven´t watched it yet and is interested in lions and tigers it´s a very good one.




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United States Pckts Offline
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Offbeat Mara Camp
The cheetah was in the process of hunting when it bumped into the male leopard hiding behind a bush stopping the cheetah in its tracks.

For some reason the cheetah got really mad and started chasing the leopard away and to our surprise, the leopard ran away, that's just unheard of, usually leopards can fight to death. Well amidst all that, the prey got to live another day or hour..... This unique shot of a cheetah and leopard together was taken by a @yellowzebrasafaris guest Jean recently near camp! Game sightings amazing right now after a great rainy season

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United Kingdom Sully Offline
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Convergence and Divergence in the Evolution of Cat Skulls: Temporal and Spatial Patterns of Morphological Diversity
Manabu Sakamoto, Marcello Ruta
  • Abstract
    Background
    Studies of biological shape evolution are greatly enhanced when framed in a phylogenetic perspective. Inclusion of fossils amplifies the scope of macroevolutionary research, offers a deep-time perspective on tempo and mode of radiations, and elucidates life-trait changes. We explore the evolution of skull shape in felids (cats) through morphometric analyses of linear variables, phylogenetic comparative methods, and a new cladistic study of saber-toothed cats.
    Methodology/Principal Findings
    A new phylogenetic analysis supports the monophyly of saber-toothed cats (Machairodontinae) exclusive of Felinae and some basal felids, but does not support the monophyly of various saber-toothed tribes and genera. We quantified skull shape variation in 34 extant and 18 extinct species using size-adjusted linear variables. These distinguish taxonomic group membership with high accuracy. Patterns of morphospace occupation are consistent with previous analyses, for example, in showing a size gradient along the primary axis of shape variation and a separation between large and small-medium cats. By combining the new phylogeny with a molecular tree of extant Felinae, we built a chronophylomorphospace (a phylogeny superimposed onto a two-dimensional morphospace through time). The evolutionary history of cats was characterized by two major episodes of morphological divergence, one marking the separation between saber-toothed and modern cats, the other marking the split between large and small-medium cats.
    Conclusions/Significance
    Ancestors of large cats in the ‘Panthera’ lineage tend to occupy, at a much later stage, morphospace regions previously occupied by saber-toothed cats. The latter radiated out into new morphospace regions peripheral to those of extant large cats. The separation between large and small-medium cats was marked by considerable morphologically divergent trajectories early in feline evolution. A chronophylomorphospace has wider applications in reconstructing temporal transitions across two-dimensional trait spaces, can be used in ecophenotypical and functional diversity studies, and may reveal novel patterns of morphospace occupation.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0039752
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United States Pckts Offline
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( This post was last modified: 01-31-2020, 10:33 PM by Pckts )


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M2 Male Leopard
Estimated weight of 80kg
152 CM Body Length
89 CM Tail Length
241 CM Total Length
80 CM Shoulder Height
85 CM Chest Girth
58 CM Neck Girth

Compared to 

Joker, largest Jaguar measured in the Southern Pantanal by Oncafari, weight wasn't obtained but should be 130kg+ 
Measured over the curves

165 CM Body Length
71 CM Tail Length
236 CM Total Length
76 CM Shoulder Height
126 CM Chest Girth 
66 CM Neck Girth


Difference's between the 2
3.9'' Longer in the body for the Jaguar 
7'' Longer Tail for the Leopard
1.5'' Taller at the shoulder for the Leopard
16'' Larger in the Chest for the Jaguar
3.1" Larger in the neck for the Jaguar



Here you can see the robustness of the Jaguar in comparison to an estimated 80kg Leopard. 
Also please note that I'm not sure the process used on the Leopard *curves or pegs* but that will only dictate the body dimensions not girth measurements.
I'd assume it to also be over the curves since that's the more common practice. 
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Venezuela epaiva Offline
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African Lion front paw
Credit to @road_kill_skeletons

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United States Pckts Offline
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GuateGojira Offline
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( This post was last modified: 04-27-2020, 04:36 AM by GuateGojira )

Check these comparative images of the felids of India from the book of S. H. Prater (1971):


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India Hello Offline
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( This post was last modified: 04-27-2020, 04:01 PM by Hello )

The Persian lion looks robust and beautiful illustration @GuateGojira
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Ashutosh Offline
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@GuateGojira, there is one omission on that list - the smallest feline in the world, the rusty spotted cat. The biggest they get is 1.5 kilos, averaging around 1 kilo.
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GuateGojira Offline
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(04-28-2020, 10:59 AM)Ashutosh Wrote: @GuateGojira, there is one omission on that list - the smallest feline in the world, the rusty spotted cat. The biggest they get is 1.5 kilos, averaging around 1 kilo.

You are right, but for some reason Prater missed that image. I had a very old comparative image made by me where I showed the tiger and the rusty-spotted cat together, but now that I have more measurements I am going to make a new comparative image of both cats together.



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United States Pckts Offline
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Both of these boys are said to be 300kg+ cats.

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United States Pckts Offline
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May 9 at 10:46 AM · Narok, Kenya
waaa l can't imagine what l saw in my naked eyes with the help of my lenses
the cheetah was hunting the Cook heartbeat while the Leopard was hunting the cheetah, what happened is that the heartbeat disappear from cheetah sight. And the cheetah notice that the Leopard was after her, she started scaring the Leopard and both of them start walk in one frame .

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The Male Leopard is said to have been Splitnose and the Female Cheetah was said to have cubs near by so it's good the encounter ended peacefully.
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Finland Shadow Offline
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( This post was last modified: 05-20-2020, 05:36 PM by Shadow )

I just linked this article to Amur tigers thread (http://programmes.putin.kremlin.ru/en/tiger/news/25563), but there was this sentence, which I found interesting, when talking about lions and tigers. 

This one: "Sergei Naidenko: The tiger is the largest representative of the feline family, along with the lion. The Amur tiger is one of the largest tiger subspecies. We used to capture animals weighing 212 kilogrammes. However, an adult male may weigh up to 250 kilogrammes."

So another tiger expert and even from Russia, when talking about one of their iconic species, puts tigers at approximately same level with lions in size.

It has been interesting to see how it has changed with time. A few decades ago tigers were considered to be clearly bigger than lions, then with time and more and more real and accurate information that difference started to get smaller and smaller, when looking what was found out in real research. Nowadays it looks like, that many experts aren´t too sure what kind of real difference there is, if at all in overall size/weight. 

When I was younger and preferred tigers over other animals, I remember how I found it annoying to read such thoughts. Nowadays, when I don´t have such favorites really, it has been just interesting to follow up, how things develop. For me it looks like, that tigers have had maybe exaggerated reputation based on some old and very questionable hunting records, which are vague and nowadays questioned by many people. None of those wouldn´t be taken seriously in these days without very hard evidence and real documentation. I personally have found out, that in my thoughts I just can´t take seriously those old claims anymore. Gap to reliable information is simply too big.

All in all, it will be interesting to see what kind of information can be found in future about these iconic biggest cats of the world, tigers and lions. Then again, a few kilos here or there isn´t really so important, just in some way interesting to certain point. Differences and similarities in behavior are much more interesting, imo.
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