Editing Big cat (section)

==Description and abilities==
===Roaring===
The ability to [[Roar (vocalization)|roar]] comes from an elongated and specially adapted [[larynx]] and [[hyoid bone|hyoid apparatus]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Weissengruber |first1=GE |last2=G Forstenpointner |last3=G Peters |last4=A Kübber-Heiss |last5=WT Fitch |date=September 2002 |title=Hyoid apparatus and pharynx in the lion (Panthera leo), jaguar (Panthera onca), tiger (Panthera tigris), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), liger (Panthera leo × Panthera tigris), Tigon (Panthera tigris x Panthera leo) and the domestic cat. (Felis silvestris f. catus) |journal=Journal of Anatomy |volume=201 |issue=3 |pages=195–209 |doi=10.1046/j.1469-7580.2002.00088.x |pmc=1570911 |pmid=12363272}}</ref> The larynx is attached to the hyoid bone that is hanging from a sequence of bones. This sequence of bones the hyoid hangs from are tympanohyal, stylohyal, epihyal, and ceratohyal; these are located in the mandible and skull.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hast |first=M H |date=April 1989 |title=The larynx of roaring and non-roaring cats. |journal=Journal of Anatomy |volume=163 |pages=117–121 |issn=0021-8782 |pmc=1256521 |pmid=2606766}}</ref>  In the larynx, there are vocal folds that produce the structure needed to stretch the ligament to a length that creates the roar effect. This tissue is made of thick collagen and elastic fiber that becomes denser as it approaches the epithelial mucosal lining.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Erickson-DiRenzo |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Sivasankar |first2=M. Preeti |last3=Thibeault |first3=Susan L. |date=2014-12-15 |title=Utility of cell viability assays for use with ex vivo vocal fold epithelial tissue |journal=The Laryngoscope |volume=125 |issue=5 |pages=E180–E185 |doi=10.1002/lary.25100 |issn=0023-852X |pmc=4414688 |pmid=25511412}}</ref> When this large pad folds it creates a low natural frequency, causing the cartilage walls of the larynx to vibrate. When it begins to vibrate the sound moves from a high to low air resistance which makes the roaring.

The lion's larynx is the longest, giving it the most robust roar. The roar in good conditions can be heard 8 or even 10&nbsp;km ({{convert|8|or|10|km|0|disp=out}}) away.<ref name="Darling2000">{{Cite book |last=Kathy Darling |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qaoK0ykgmwQC |title=Lions |date=1 January 2000 |publisher=Lerner Publications |isbn=978-1-57505-404-9}}</ref> All five extant members of the genus ''Panthera'' contain this elongated hyoid but owing to differences in the larynx the [[snow leopard]] cannot roar. Unlike the roaring cats in their family, the snow leopard is distinguished by the lack of a large pad of fibro-elastic tissue that allows for a large vocal fold.

===Weight range===
The range of weights exhibited by the species is large. At the bottom, adult snow leopards usually weigh {{cvt|22|to|55|kg}}, with an exceptional specimen reaching {{cvt|75|kg}}.<ref name="WCoW2002">{{Cite book |last1=Sunquist, M. |url=https://archive.org/details/wildcatsofworld00sunq/page/377 |title=Wild Cats of the World |last2=Sunquist, F. |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-226-77999-7 |location=[[Chicago]] |pages=[https://archive.org/details/wildcatsofworld00sunq/page/377 377–394] |chapter=Snow leopard |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IF8nDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA378}}</ref><ref name="Boitani1984">{{Cite book |last=Boitani, L. |url=https://archive.org/details/simonschustersgu00boit |title=Simon & Schuster's Guide to Mammals |publisher=Simon & Schuster, Touchstone Books |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-671-42805-1}}</ref>

Male and female lions typically weigh {{cvt|150|-|250|kg}} and {{cvt|110|-|182|kg}} respectively,<ref name="NowellJackson1996">{{Cite book |last1=Nowell, Kristin |url=http://carnivoractionplans1.free.fr/wildcats.pdf |title=Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan |last2=Jackson, Peter |publisher=IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group |year=1996 |isbn=978-2-8317-0045-8 |location=Gland, Switzerland |pages=1–334}}</ref><ref name="nowak">{{Cite book |last=Nowak |first=Ronald M. |title=Walker's Mammals of the World |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-8018-5789-8 |location=Baltimore}}</ref> and male and female tigers {{cvt|100|-|306|kg}} and {{convert|75|-|167|kg|lb|abbr=on}} respectively.<ref name="Mazak1981">{{Cite journal |last=Mazák, V. |year=1981 |title=''Panthera tigris'' |journal=Mammalian Species |issue=152 |pages=1–8 |doi=10.2307/3504004 |jstor=3504004 |doi-access=free |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Exceptionally heavy male lions and tigers have been recorded to exceed {{cvt|306|kg}} in the [[wilderness]],<ref name="Wood1983">{{Cite book |last=Wood |first=G. L. |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessbookofan00wood |title=The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats |publisher=Sterling Publishing |year=1983 |isbn=978-0-85112-235-9}}</ref><ref name="UPOA1963">{{Citation |title=East African Business Digest |work=University Press of Africa, with contributions from the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce & Industry |year=1963 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i_JPAQAAIAAJ&q=TWO+mamuding+lions+which,+since+January+this+year,+killed+244+cattle+and+three+donkeys,+were+shot+at+lssuna+village+in+Tanganyika.+The+lions+were+found+to+weigh+700+and+800+lb. |access-date=2018-03-18}}</ref> and weigh around {{cvt|450|kg}} [[captive animal|in captivity]].<ref name="Wood1983" /><ref name="LSPC1941">{{Cite news |year=1941 |title=The Nineteenth Century and After |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ylEQAAAAIAAJ&q=Samson,+1,000-pound+African |access-date=2018-03-17 |publisher=Leonard Scott Publishing Company |volume=130}}</ref>

The [[liger]], a [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]] of a lion and tiger, can grow to be much larger than its parent species. In particular, a liger called 'Nook' is reported to have weighed over {{cvt|550|kg}}.<ref name="LigerFacts">{{Cite web |title=The Liger - Meet the World's Largest Cat |url=http://ligerfacts.org/ |access-date=2016-07-17 |website=Liger Facts}}</ref><ref name="LigerWorldNook">{{Cite web |title=Liger Nook - Liger Profile |url=http://www.ligerworld.com/nook-the-liger.html |access-date=2018-04-23 |website=Liger World}}</ref>