big cats
The term Big Cat is used to distinguish the larger cat species from smaller ones.
One definition of big cat includes only the four species of cat in the genus Panthera:
the tiger, lion, leopard, and jaguar. Members of this genus are the only cats able to roar, and
this is sometimes considered a distinguishing characteristic of big cats. A more expansive definition
also includes the cheetah, snow leopard, clouded leopard, and cougar. The roaring cats may also be
distinguished from the other big cats by referring to them as "great cats".
Three of the four largest cats are members of the genus Panthera; the cougar is the fourth largest
cat, exceeding the leopard in size. Some medium-sized cats like the Eurasian lynx may weigh as much
as 30 kg (66 lb), but they are not considered big cats.
Despite enormous differences in size, the various species of cat are amazingly similar in both structure
and behavior. All cats are carnivores and efficient predators. Their range includes the Americas, Africa,
Asia, and Europe; Australia and Antarctica have no indigenous species of cats.
roaring
The ability to roar comes from an elongated and specially adapted larynx and hyoid apparatus. When air passes through the larynx on the way to the lungs, the cartilage walls of the larynx vibrate, producing sound. The lion's larynx is longest, giving it the most robust roar. Four cats have the physical structure of the throat needed for making the deep, loud, and resonant sound of a roar. They are jaguars, leopards, lions, and tigers.
species
- Genus Panthera (roaring or great cats)
- Leopard, Panthera pardus (Asia and Africa)
- Lion, Panthera leo (Africa, Gir Forest in India; extinct in former range of southeast Europe, Middle East, much of Asia, and North America)
- Jaguar, Panthera onca (the Americas; from Mexico to northern Argentina)
- Tiger, Panthera tigris (Asia)
- Genus Acinonyx
- Cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus (Africa and Iran)
- Genus Puma
- Cougar, Puma concolor (North and South America)
- Genus Uncia
- Snow Leopard, Uncia uncia (mountains of central and south Asia)
- Genus Neofelis
- Bornean Clouded Leopard, Neofelis diardi (Borneo and Sumatra)
- Clouded Leopard, Neofelis nebulosa (southeast and south Asia)