Cape lion
The Cape lion was a population of lions in South Africa's Natal and Cape Provinces that was extirpated in the mid-19th century. The type specimen originated at the Cape of Good Hope and was described in 1842.
| Cape lion | |
|---|---|
| Male at Jardin des plantes, Paris circa 1860 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Pantherinae |
| Genus: | Panthera |
| Species: | P. leo |
| Subspecies: | P. l. melanochaita |
| Population: | †Cape lion |
Traditionally, the Cape lion was considered a distinct subspecies of lion, Panthera leo melanochaita. However, phylogeographic analysis has shown that lion populations in Southern and East Africa are closely related. In 2017, the subspecies Panthera leo melanochaita was recircumscribed to include all lion populations in Southern and East Africa. Genetic analysis published in 2023 suggests that Cape lions were not particularly distinctive from other Southern African lion populations.
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