The Cape Lion was the lion of the Cape region of South Africa. It was driven out of the region in the mid-19th century.[1] The name melanochaita, now used for all lions of southern and eastern Africa, was first given to it.[2]
Names and classification
In the 2017 checklist the Cape Lion is part of Panthera leo melanochaita. The name was published in 1842 from the Cape of Good Hope, with no type specimen designated.[2]
Classification evidence
A 2024 study measured 22 Cape Lion skulls, 12 of them adult. The skulls did not set the Cape Lion apart from other lions, which agrees with DNA work that places it as the southernmost population of the southern lineage.[1]