The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus Panthera native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail, and distinctive black, mostly vertical stripes on orange fur. It was first scientifically described in 1758 and is traditionally classified into eight recent subspecies, though some recognise only two subspecies, namely mainland Asian tigers and island tigers of the Sunda Islands.
Throughout the tiger's range, it inhabits mainly forests, from coniferous and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in the Russian Far East and Northeast China to tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests on the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The tiger is an apex predator and preys mainly on ungulates such as deer and wild boar, which it takes by ambush. It lives a mostly solitary life and occupies home ranges, which it defends from individuals of the same sex. The range of a male tiger overlaps with that of multiple females with whom he has reproductive claims. Females give birth to usually two or three cubs that stay with their mother for about two years. When becoming independent, they leave their mother's home range and establish their own.
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The tiger is among the most popular of the world's charismatic megafauna. It has been kept in captivity since ancient times and has been trained to perform in circuses and other entertainment shows. The species has been popular in the exotic pet trade. The tiger featured prominently in the ancient mythology and folklore of cultures throughout its historic range and has continued to appear in culture worldwide.
In 1758, Carl Linnaeus described the tiger in his work Systema Naturae and gave it the scientific name Felis tigris.[2] In 1929, the British taxonomist Reginald Innes Pocock subordinated the species under the genus Panthera, using the scientific name Panthera tigris.[7][8]
Following Linnaeus's first descriptions of the species, several tiger zoological specimens were described and proposed as subspecies.[9] The validity of several tiger subspecies was questioned in 1999. Most putative subspecies described in the 19th and 20th centuries were distinguished on the basis of fur length and colouration, striping patterns and body size, hence characteristics that vary widely within populations. Morphologically, tigers from different regions vary little, and gene flow between populations in those regions is considered to have been possible during the Pleistocene. Therefore, it was proposed to recognise only two tiger subspecies as valid, namely P. t. tigris in mainland Asia and P. t. sondaica in the Greater Sunda Islands. Mainland tigers are described as being larger in size with generally lighter fur and fewer stripes, while island tigers are smaller due to insular dwarfism, with darker coats and more numerous stripes.[10] The stripes of island tigers may break up into spotted patterns.[11]
This two-subspecies proposal was reaffirmed in 2015 by a comprehensive analysis of morphological, ecological, and molecular traits of all putative tiger subspecies using a combined approach. The authors proposed recognition of only two subspecies, namely P. t. tigris comprising the Bengal, Malayan, Indochinese, South Chinese, Siberian and Caspian tiger populations of continental Asia, and P. t. sondaica comprising the Javan, Bali and Sumatran tiger populations of the Sunda Islands. The continental nominate subspecies P. t. tigris constitutes two clades: a northern clade composed of the Siberian and Caspian tiger populations, and a southern clade composed of all other mainland populations. The authors noted that this two-subspecies reclassification will impact tiger conservation management.[12] It would make captive breeding programmes and future re-wilding of zoo-born tigers easier, as one tiger population could then be used to reinforce another. However, there is a risk that the loss of subspecies uniqueness could lead to fewer protection efforts for specific populations.[13]
In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group revised felid taxonomy in accordance with the two-subspecies proposal of the comprehensive 2015 study, and recognised the tiger populations in continental Asia as P. t. tigris, and those in the Sunda Islands as P. t. sondaica.[14] This two-subspecies view is still disputed by researchers, since the currently recognised six living subspecies can be distinguished genetically.[13] Results of a 2018 whole-genome sequencing of 32 samples support six monophyletic tiger clades corresponding with the six living proposed subspecies and indicate they descended from a common ancestor around 110,000 years ago.[15] Studies in 2021 and 2023 also affirmed the genetic distinctiveness and separation of these tigers.[16][17]
The tiger shares the genus Panthera with the lion, leopard, jaguar and snow leopard. Results of genetic analysis indicate that the tiger and snow leopard are sister species and about 2.88 million years ago, the tiger and the snow leopard lineages diverged from the other Panthera species.[35][39]
The fossil species Panthera palaeosinensis of early Pleistocene northern China was described as a possible tiger ancestor when it was discovered in 1924, but modern cladistics place it as basal to modern Panthera.[40][38] Panthera zdanskyi, which lived around the same time and place, was suggested to be a sister taxon of the modern tiger when it was examined in 2014.[38] However, as of 2023, at least two recent studies considered P. zdanskyi likely to be a synonym of P. palaeosinensis, noting that its proposed differences from that species fell within the range of individual variation.[41][42] The earliest appearance of the modern tiger species in the fossil record are jaw fragments from Lantion in China that are dated to the early Pleistocene.[38] Middle- to late-Pleistocene tiger fossils were found throughout China, Sumatra and Java. Prehistoric subspecies include Panthera tigris trinilensis and P. t. soloensis of Java and Sumatra, and P. t. acutidens of China; late Pleistocene and early Holocene fossils of tigers were also found in Borneo and Palawan, Philippines.[43]
Results of a phylogeographic study indicate that all living tigers have a common ancestor 108,000 to 72,000 years ago.[29] A 2022 paleogenomic study of a Pleistocene tiger basal to living tigers concluded that modern tiger populations spread across Asia no earlier than 94,000 years ago. There is evidence of interbreeding between the lineage of modern mainland tigers and these ancient tigers.[44] The potential tiger range during the late Pleistocene and Holocene was predicted using ecological niche modelling based on more than 500 tiger locality records combined with bioclimatic data. The resulting model shows a contiguous tiger range at the Last Glacial Maximum, indicating gene flow between tiger populations in mainland Asia. The tiger populations on the Sunda Islands and mainland Asia were possibly separated during interglacial periods.[45]
Captive tigers were bred with lions to create hybrids that share physical and behavioural qualities of both parent species; the liger is the offspring of a female tiger and a male lion, and the tigon the offspring of a male tiger and a female lion.[47] The lion sire passes on a growth-promoting gene, but the corresponding growth-inhibiting gene from the female tiger is absent, so that ligers grow far larger than either parent species. By contrast, the male tiger does not pass on a growth-promoting gene, and the lioness passes on a growth inhibiting gene; hence, tigons are around the same size as either species.[48] Breeding hybrids is considered unethical as they are susceptible to obesity and other birth defects.[47]
A tiger's coat is generally coarse and relatively thin, though the Siberian tiger has a thick winter coat.[11][53] It has a mane-like heavy growth of fur around the neck and jaws and long whiskers, especially in males.[11] Its colouration is generally orange but can vary from light yellow to dark red.[11][43][54] White fur covers the ventral surface, along with parts of the face.[11][55] It also has a prominent white spot on the back of their ears which are surrounded by black.[11] The tiger is marked with distinctive black or dark brown stripes, the patterns of which are unique for each individual.[11][56] The stripes are mostly vertical, but those on the limbs and forehead are horizontal. They are more concentrated towards the posterior and those on the trunk may or may not reach under the belly. The tips of stripes are generally sharp and some may split up or split and fuse again. Tail stripes are thick bands and a black tip marks the end.[57]
Stripes are likely advantageous for camouflage in vegetation with vertical patterns of light and shade, such as trees, reeds and tall grass.[56][58] This is supported by a 1987 Fourier analysis study which concluded that the spatial frequencies of tiger stripes line up with their environment.[59] The tiger is one of only a few striped cat species; it is not known why spotted patterns and rosettes are the more common camouflage patterns among felids.[60] The orange colour may also aid in concealment, as the tiger's prey are dichromats, and thus they may perceive the cat as green and blended in with the vegetation.[61] The white dots on the ear may play a role in communication.[11]
Pseudo-melanistic tigers with thick, merged stripes have been recorded in Simlipal National Park and three Indian zoos; population genetic analysis of Indian tiger samples revealed that this phenotype is caused by a mutation of a transmembrane aminopeptidase gene. Around 37% of the Simlipal tiger population has this feature, which has been linked to genetic isolation.[64]
The tiger historically ranged from eastern Turkey and northern Afghanistan to Indochina and from southeastern Siberia to Sumatra, Java and Bali.[11] As of 2022, it inhabits less than 7% of its historical distribution and has a scattered range that includes the Indian subcontinent, the Indochinese Peninsula, Sumatra, the Russian Far East and northeastern China.[1]As of 2020, India had the largest extent of global tiger habitat with 300,508 km2 (116,027 sq mi), followed by Russia with 195,819 km2 (75,606 sq mi).[65] 0852c4b9a8
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