Dictionary > Pantherinae

Pantherinae

Definition
noun
A taxonomic subfamily belonging to the family Felidae, and includes the genera Panthera and Neofelis
Supplement
Felidae is a taxonomic family belonging to the suborder Feliormia, of order Carnivora. It is comprised of two subfamilies: Pantherinae (big cats) and Felinae. The pantherine cats have an imperfectly ossified suspensorium of the hyoid. The elastic tendon at the interior confers great mobility upon the larynx and help distend the back of the mouth greatly.1
Pantherinae is a subfamily that is comprised of two genera: (1) Panthera and (2) Neofelis. This subfamily is first described by Reginald Innes Pocock, a British zoologist, in 1917.1 The genus Panthera is comprised of lion, tiger, jaguar, and leopard. They share common cranial features. These panthers are capable of roaring, which is assumed to be due to special morphological features of their larynx that enable them to roar.2 Neofelis includes the clouded leopard and sunda clouded leopard.
Scientific classification:

  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Class: Mammalia
  • Order: Carnivora
  • Suborder: Feliformia
  • Family: Felidae
  • Subfamily: Pantherinae (Pocock, 1917)

See also:

Reference(s):

1 Pocock, R. I. (1917). The Classification of existing Felidae. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History. Series 8, Volume XX: 329–350.

2 Nowak, R. M. (1999). Walker’s Mammals of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press.


You will also like...

Young plant growing from the soil.
Soils

Nutrients in the soil are essential to the proper growth of a land plant. This tutorial deals with the properties of soi..

New Zealand Fauna
New Zealand’s Unique Fauna

Meet some of New Zealand's unique fauna, including endemic insects, frogs, reptiles, birds, and mammals, and investigate..

Human Nervous System
The Human Nervous System

The nervous system is essentially a biological information highway. This tutorial gives an overview of the nervous syste..

Direct and indirect physiologic effects of growth hormone
Animal Growth Hormones

Hormones are produced in the endocrine glands of animals. The pituitary gland and hypothalamus are the most impor..

Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung
Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung

In this tutorial, the works of Carl Gustav Jung and Sigmund Freud are described. Both of them actively pursued the way h..

Plant biology
Plant Biology

Plantlife can be studied at a variety of levels, from the molecular, genetic and biochemical level through organelles, c..

Related Articles...

No related articles found

See all Related Topics