Lion subspecies

Lion subspecies are not settled. A 2005 list recognised 11 subspecies. The IUCN Cat Specialist Group recognised just two in 2017, Panthera leo leo and Panthera leo melanochaita, and did not recognise the other names (Kitchener et al. 2017). DNA studies describe a northern lineage and a southern lineage, with four to six regional groups inside them (Bertola et al. 2015, 2016). Lions of West and Central Africa are closer to the Asiatic Lion than to the lions of East and Southern Africa (Bertola et al. 2011), so the Asiatic Lion sits with the northern lineage.

The 2017 checklist does not say which of the two recognised names each older name belongs to. The older names are grouped here by where they live: “Northern (leo)” for the area the checklist gives to leo (Central and West Africa and India), “Southern (melanochaita)” for southern and eastern Africa, and “Not placed” where the range falls between them or the name is unclear. This list follows the 2005 and 2017 checklists plus the best-known extinct forms. Other names may have been published, so there may be more. Select a name to open its main source or page. See Forms and variants on the lion page.