TIL that black panthers aren’t a distinct species - they are jaguars or leopards with “melanism”, the opposite of albinism
TIL that black panthers aren’t a distinct species - they are jaguars or leopards with “melanism”, the opposite of albinism
The trait is caused by a recessive allele in the leopard, and a dominant allele in the jaguar.
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why do we say "black panther" if panthers are always black?
I guess because one is Pink
I think the mountain lion / cougar is sometimes called a panther, too. Like the Florida panther.
The word is a little bit like raptor is used for some birds. It means big cat.
No. Wrong again. FFS. I guess school is out already today on the East coast? 🤦🏼♂️
Oxford English Dictionary:
panther | ˈpænθər | noun
a leopard, especially a black one.
• North American English a large American wild cat with a plain tawny to grayish coat, found from Canada to Patagonia. Also called cougar, mountain lion, puma
I've only ever called them Panthers. Black Panthers are a social/political group.
And a superhero
Panthers are NOT "always black", as the title of this post and the crux of the linked article state. The condition is "the opposite of albinism", which implies similar rarity — not a constant. 😶
Got a link?
Below, with the chuckleheads blathering their confident nonsense as "fact".
Imagine arguing nomenclature and being this much of a dick about it
No. Wrong again. FFS. Do your research. Panthers are “a large wild cat, especially a leopard or jaguar, in a color form with black fur”
especially
This implies that it's more common for black furred leapords and jaguars to be called panthers, but other things can be called panthers too.
Isn't the "especially" part an injection which could be left out, so essentially: "A panther is a large wild cat, [...], with black fur"?
It's a fucking subfamily of a genus, people. Read a gawdamned book.
Genera are within families, not the other way around. Maybe read a book?
Also: the genus Panthera consists of 5 big cats. The other two big cats that aren't in Panthera are the cougar, which is also colloquially called a panther, and the cheetah.
So, in fact, "panther" can refer to any big cat other than cheetahs.
Dude, you clearly know nothing about taxonomy or big cats. You just want to be pedantic, but you are flat out wrong
You cite a dictionary link in reference to a scientific classification question? Are you 10?
Oh no! You’re right. How dare I use a dictionary of all things to define words? What was I thinking. Of course your superior intellect could easily see through my charade. Whatever would we do without you around to point out our mistakes?
Shut up.
Are you being an asshole about it? Oh wait I don't need to look it up lol
What about https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantera
You fucking knob. 🤦🏼♂️