Ethiopian lion

Ethiopian lion
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Panthera
Species: P. leo[1]
Subspecies: P. l. roosevelti
Trinomial name
Panthera leo roosevelti
(Heller, 1913)

The Ethiopian lion (Panthera leo roosevelti) also called Addis Ababa lion and Abyssinian lion, is considered a possible lion subspecies native to Ethiopia, following a genetic and phenotypic analysis on lions in Addis Ababa's zoo.[2] Previously, researchers thought that the East African lion inhabited Ethiopia.[3]

Taxonomic history and genetics

In 1914, the American zoologist Heller described the Ethiopian or Abyssinian lion under the name Felis leo roosevelti on the basis of a male lion presented to President Roosevelt, allegedly from the vicinity of Addis Abeba.[4]

A DNA analysis was conducted on fifteen lions in the zoo, to six populations of wild lions, by a team of researchers led by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, and the University of York in the United Kingdom. The results showed little signs of inbreeding, and that they were genetically unique. Their uniqueness was shown from a comparison of their mitochondrial Cytochrome B (CytB) gene sequence, to sequences of wild lions of different origins.[2]

Characteristics

Compared to other African lions, Ethiopian lions have darker manes and smaller bodies.[2] However, the physical differences to wild lions may be due to their living in captivity, which can affect a lion's physical appearance. Abyssinian lions may have been been bigger in the past, bigger than lions in Somalia (likely Panthera leo massaica), but smaller than Cape lions.[4]

Manes of Abyssinian lions were black and thick, similar to those of Cape lions, but did not extend through the flank.[4] The manes of Cape lion and Barbary lions did extend through it.[5]

Possible origin or habitat

Ethiopian authorities stated that Addis Ababa's zoo's lions resembled lions in the eastern and northeastern parts of Ethiopia, in Babille Elephant Sanctuary, and in a facility for rescuing wildlife in Ensessakotteh. The lions of the zoo belonged to the zoo's founder Haile Selassie, who founded it in 1948. Their origin in the wilderness is not known. One theory is that they may have descended from seven lions, five males and two females, which originated in the southwestern part of the country, and that wild lions no longer exist there, because their dark manes made them visible to hunters.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wozencraft, W.C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 546. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Bruche, S.; Gusset, M.; Lippold, S.; Barnett, R.; Eulenberger, K.; Junhold, J.; Driscoll, C. A.; Hofreiter, M. (2012). "A genetically distinct lion (Panthera leo) population from Ethiopia". European Journal of Wildlife Research. 59 (2): 215–225. doi:10.1007/s10344-012-0668-5.
  3. ↑ Haas, S.K.; Hayssen, V.; Krausman, P.R. (2005). "Panthera leo" (PDF). Mammalian Species. 762: 1–11. doi:10.1644/1545-1410(2005)762[0001:PL]2.0.CO;2.
  4. 1 2 3 Heller, E. (1913). New races of carnivores and baboons from equatorial Africa and Abyssinia Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 61(19): 1–12.
  5. ↑ Geptner, V. G., Sludskij, A. A. (1972). Mlekopitajuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza. Vysšaia Škola, Moskva. (In Russian; English translation: Heptner, V.G., Sludskii, A. A., Komarov, A., Komorov, N.; Hoffmann, R. S. (1992). Mammals of the Soviet Union. Vol III: Carnivores (Feloidea). Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation, Washington DC).
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