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Has the Snow Leopard ever hybridized with other cats?
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So I'm pretty sure that this has never happened, and as far as I'm aware no attempts to do so either have been attempted in captivity. If anyone has any information at all in regards to this question I'd very much appreciate it. Given that they are most closely related to tigers I suppose an attempt could be made or maybe even with clouded leopards, not that I encourage it of course.....
Snow leopards are beautiful cats and among my favorite animals. I learned just a couple of years ago ( AvA ) that the snow leopard's closest relative is the tiger. With this said, I can not understand why the snow leopard is not listed among the big cats, along with the true leopard, jaguar, lion, and tiger.
 (06-01-2015, 08:44 PM)'brotherbear' Wrote: Snow leopards are beautiful cats and among my favorite animals. I learned just a couple of years ago ( AvA ) that the snow leopard's closest relative is the tiger. With this said, I can not understand why the snow leopard is not listed among the big cats, along with the true leopard, jaguar, lion, and tiger. Good question Brotherbear. Perhaps because they don't roar? 
Perhaps only because of the bone or ligament which cannot allow to roar or not ?
From Wiki so take it for what its worth, but apparently Snow Leopards are classified as Panthera and the ability to Roar isn't the determing factor of being in the Panthera Genus
Panthera is a genus within the Felidae family that was named and first described by the German naturalist Oken in 1816.[2] The British taxonomist Pocock revised the classification of this genus in 1916 as comprising the species tiger, lion, jaguar and leopard on the basis of cranial features.[3] Results of genetic analysis indicate that the snow leopard also belongs to the Panthera, a classification that was accepted by IUCN assessors in 2008.[4][5]Only the tiger, lion, leopard and jaguar have the anatomical structure that enables them to roar. The primary reason for this was formerly assumed to be the incomplete ossification of the hyoid bone. However, new studies show the ability to roar is due to other morphological features, especially of the larynx. The snow leopard does not roar. Although it has an incomplete ossification of the hyoid bone, it lacks the special morphology of the larynx.[6] CharacteristicsIn Panthera species the dorsal profile of the skull is flattish or evenly convex. The frontal interorbital area is not noticeably elevated, and the area behind the elevation less steeply sloped. The basicranial axis is nearly horizontal. The inner chamber of the bullae is large, the outer small. The partition between them is close to the external auditory meatus. The convexly rounded chin is sloping.[9] EvolutionPanthera probably evolved in Asia, but the roots of the genus remain unclear. Genetic studies indicate that pantherine cats diverged from the subfamily Felinae between six and ten million years ago.[4] Fossil records that appear to belong within the Panthera genus reach only 2.0 to 3.8 million years back.[10]The snow leopard was initially seen at the base of Panthera, but newer molecular studies suggest that it is nestled within Panthera and is a sister species of the tiger.[11] Many place the snow leopard within the genus Panthera, but there is currently no consensus as to whether the snow leopard should retain its own genus Uncia or be moved to Panthera uncia.[4][12][13][14] Since 2008, the IUCN Red List lists it as Panthera uncia using Uncia uncia as a synonym.[5]The genus Neofelis is generally placed at the base of the Panthera group, but is not included in the genus itself.[4][12][13][14]Results of a mitogenomic study suggest the phylogeny can be represented as Neofelis nebulosa (Panthera tigris (Panthera onca (Panthera pardus, (Panthera leo, Panthera uncia)))).[15] About 11.3 million years ago Panthera separated from other felid species and then evolved into the several species of the genus. N. nebulosa appears to have diverged about 8.66 million years ago, P. tigris about 6.55 million years ago, P. uncia about 4.63 million years ago and P. pardus about 4.35 million years ago. Mitochondrial sequence data from fossils suggest that American lions (P. atrox) are a sister lineage to Eurasian cave lions (P. l. spelaea), diverging about 0.34 million years ago.[16]The prehistoric cat Panthera onca gombaszogensis, often called European jaguar is probably closely related to the modern jaguar. The earliest evidence of the species was obtained at Olivola in Italy, and dates 1.6 million years.[17] 
I don't remember why the snow leopard was the closely related with the tiger, but to be sincere, I think that is a mistake. Tiger is more related with the big cats like the lion-leopard-jaguar, and although the tiger separated earlier than them, the snow leopards is even older, and present primitive characteristics that differentiate them from the "Panthera" genus.
I could be incorrect, but I would like to see the document about the relation of the tiger and the snow leopard again. 
OK; I read the file with some ( partial ) understanding and it appears that snow leopards and tigers are indeed closely linked. However, I realize that this does not neccessarily place the snow leopard among the 'big cats'. He does appear to be more closely related to the pantherines than other 'small cats' such as the cougar or the cheetah. Perhaps merely a matter of catagorizing?
 (06-01-2015, 05:41 PM)Richardrli Wrote: So I'm pretty sure that this has never happened, and as far as I'm aware no attempts to do so either have been attempted in captivity. If anyone has any information at all in regards to this question I'd very much appreciate it. Given that they are most closely related to tigers I suppose an attempt could be made or maybe even with clouded leopards, not that I encourage it of course..... The complicated relationship between the ounce and other Pantherine cats On one hand, based on phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequence sampled across the living Felidæ, the snow leopard forms a sister group with the tiger. The time of the genetic divergence of this group is estimated at 4.62 to 1.82 million years. The snow leopard and the tiger probably diverged between 3.7 and 2.7 million years ago. Panthera originates most likely in northern Central Asia. Panthera blytheæ, excavated in western Tibet's Ngari Prefecture, is the oldest known species in Panthera, and exhibits skull characteristics similar to the snow leopard: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/311/5757/73, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266755142, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...via%3Dihub, https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/1....2013.2686 2 cladograms (by Sainsf) proposed for the genus Panthera. The upper cladogram is based on a 2006 phylogenetic study by Warren E. Johnson (of the National Cancer Institute) and colleagues, and a 2009 study by Lars Werdelin and colleagues. The lower cladogram is based on a 2010 study by Brian W. Davis (of the Texas A&M University) and colleagues and a 2011 study by Ji H. Mazák (of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum) and colleagues.  *This image is copyright of its original author One the other hand, 2016 study revealed that the mitochondrial genomes of snow leopards, leopards and lions are more similar to each other than their nuclear genomes, indicating that the ancestors of snow leopards hybridised with those of leopards and lions at some point in their evolution: https://genome.cshlp.org/content/26/1/1 |
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