1. The word Jaguar originates from the Tupian word yaguara (which means the one which kills with a single leap). The word Panther originates from the Greek word pánthēr. In Mexican Spanish language, the Jaguar has a nickname called as el tigre.
2. The scientific name given by Carl Linnaeus (in 1758) to Jaguar was Felis onca. IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) clearly stated that there are no subspecies of the Jaguar.
3. Jaguars are the only member of the genus Panthera to live in the North and South America. Their scientific name is Panthera onca.
4. Studies show that all the five members of the Panthera genus and Clouded Leopard have a common ancestor. The Panthera genus evolved 2 to 3.8 million years ago, and the Jaguar diverged from the group around 1.5 million years ago. They reached Americas through Beringia or Bering Land Bridge from Asia in the Early Pleistocene epoch.
5. Their fur coat is either yellow or orange, and they have rosettes (spots which look like roses) all over the body. The ventral side of the body is covered with white fur. Their legs are short in comparison with other big cats.
6. They are the world’s third-largest cats and the largest cats to be found in the Americas (also called as the New World). From head to the tip of the tail, a Jaguar measures nearly 6 to 8 feet or nearly 3 meters.
7. Though they look similar to the Leopards they are bigger and stronger than the Leopards. The rosettes present on the Jaguar are bigger and sparse (compared to Leopards).
8. The Jaguars that live in forests are smaller and darker than the ones which live in open woods.
9. Like other cats, male Jaguars weigh more than the females. The weight of the male Jaguar is usually around 57 to 113 kilograms or 126 to 250 lbs and the females weigh nearly 45 to 90 kilograms or 100 to 200 lbs. The average height of a Jaguar is 25 to 30 inches or 62 to 76 centimeters.
10. Jaguars have the largest eyes in proportionate with the head size. The eye color is usually golden or reddish yellow.
11. They are extremely good at climbing, swimming and crawling and prefer staying near the waters. Jaguars enjoy fishing. These big cats even use their tails like a fishing cord and fish.
12. Their jaws are very strong but a little smaller than Tigers and Lions. When the force of the Jaguar’s bite is adjusted for the body size, it has the highest bite force leaving behind Lions and Tigers (Clouded Leopards also has the highest bite force).
13. They are not only active in the night time but are also active during the daytime.
14. Black Panthers or Black Jaguars are actually melanistic Leopards and Jaguars. They don’t belong to any different subspecies or species. According to some studies, natural selection prefers melanistic Panthers over normal Panthers. They are found in the South American region only.
15. Though extremely rare than the Black Panthers or Black Jaguars, albino Jaguars are also present which are called as White Panthers.