Editing Tiger (section)

=== Subspecies ===
{{anchor|Populations}}
Nine [[Holocene|recent]] tiger [[subspecies]] have been proposed between the early 19th and early 21st centuries, namely the [[Bengal tiger|Bengal]], [[Malayan tiger|Malayan]], [[Indochinese tiger|Indochinese]], [[South China tiger|South China]], [[Siberian tiger|Siberian]], [[Caspian tiger|Caspian]], [[Javan tiger|Javan]], [[Bali tiger|Bali]] and [[Sumatran tiger]]s.<ref name=MSW3>{{MSW3 Carnivora |id=14000259 |page=546 |heading=Species ''Panthera tigris''}}</ref><ref name=Wilting2015/> The [[Valid name (zoology)|validity]] of several tiger subspecies was questioned in 1999 as most putative subspecies were distinguished on the basis of fur length and colouration, striping patterns and body size of specimens in [[natural history museum]] collections that are not necessarily representative for the entire population. It was proposed to recognise only two tiger subspecies as valid, namely ''P. t. tigris'' in mainland Asia and the smaller ''P. t. sondaica'' in the [[Greater Sunda Islands]].<ref name=Kitchener1999>Kitchener, A. (1999). "Tiger distribution, phenotypic variation and conservation issues" in {{harvnb|Seidensticker|Christie|Jackson|1999|pp=19–39}}</ref>

This two-subspecies proposal was reaffirmed in 2015 through a comprehensive analysis of morphological, ecological and [[mitochondrial DNA]] (mtDNA) traits of all putative tiger subspecies.<ref name=Wilting2015>{{cite journal |title=Planning tiger recovery: Understanding intraspecific variation for effective conservation |last1=Wilting |first1=A. |last2=Courtiol |first2=A. |first3=P. |last3=Christiansen |first4=J. |last4=Niedballa |first5=A. K. |last5=Scharf |first6=L. |last6=Orlando |first7=N. |last7=Balkenhol |first8=H. |last8=Hofer |first9=S. |last9=Kramer-Schadt |first10=J. |last10=Fickel |first11=A. C. |last11=Kitchener |name-list-style=amp |date=2015 |volume=11 |issue=5 |page=e1400175 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.1400175 |pmid=26601191 |pmc=4640610 |journal=Science Advances |bibcode=2015SciA....1E0175W}}</ref>
In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group revised [[Felidae|felid]] taxonomy in accordance with the 2015 two-subspecies proposal and recognised only ''P. t. tigris'' and ''P. t. sondaica''.<ref name=catsg>{{cite journal |last1=Kitchener |first1=A. C. |last2=Breitenmoser-Würsten |first2=C. |last3=Eizirik |first3=E. |last4=Gentry |first4=A. |last5=Werdelin |first5=L. |last6=Wilting |first6=A. |last7=Yamaguchi |first7=N. |last8=Abramov |first8=A. V. |last9=Christiansen |first9=P. |last10=Driscoll |first10=C. |last11=Duckworth |first11=J. W. |last12=Johnson |first12=W. |last13=Luo |first13=S.-J. |last14=Meijaard |first14=E. |last15=O'Donoghue |first15=P. |last16=Sanderson |first16=J. |last17=Seymour |first17=K. |last18=Bruford |first18=M. |last19=Groves |first19=C. |last20=Hoffmann |first20=M. |last21=Nowell |first21=K. |last22=Timmons |first22=Z. |last23=Tobe |first23=S. |name-list-style=amp |date=2017 |title=A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue 11 |pages=66–68 |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/32616/A_revised_Felidae_Taxonomy_CatNews.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y#page=66 |access-date=27 August 2019 |archive-date=17 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200117172708/https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/32616/A_revised_Felidae_Taxonomy_CatNews.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y#page=66 |url-status=live}}</ref> Results of a 2018 [[whole-genome sequencing]] study of 32 samples from the six living putative subspecies—the Bengal, Malayan, Indochinese, South China, Siberian and Sumatran tiger—found them to be distinct and separate [[clade]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Y.-C. |first2=X. |last2=Sun |first3=C. |last3=Driscoll |first4=D. G. |last4=Miquelle |first5=X. |last5=Xu |first6=P. |last6=Martelli |first7=O. |last7=Uphyrkina |first8=J. L. D. |last8=Smith |first9=S. J. |last9=O'Brien |first10=S.-J. |last10=Luo |name-list-style=amp |title=Genome-wide evolutionary analysis of natural history and adaptation in the world's tigers |journal=Current Biology |volume=28 |issue=23 |date=2018 |pages=3840–3849 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2018.09.019 |pmid=30482605 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2018CBio...28E3840L}}</ref> These results were corroborated in 2021 and 2023.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Armstrong|first1=E. E.|last2=Khan|first2=A. |last3=Taylor|first3=R. W.|last4=Gouy|first4=A. |last5=Greenbaum |first5=G. |last6=Thiéry|first6=A |last7=Kang|first7=J. T.|last8=Redondo|first8=S. A.|last9=Prost|first9=S. |last10=Barsh |first10=G. |last11=Kaelin |first11=C. |last12=Phalke|first12=S. |last13=Chugani|first13=A. |last14=Gilbert|first14=M. |last15=Miquelle |first15=D. |last16=Zachariah |first16=A. |last17=Borthakur|first17=U. |last18=Reddy|first18=A. |last19=Louis|first19=E. |last20=Ryder |first20=O. A. |last21=Jhala |first21=Y. V.|last22=Petrov|first22=D. |last23=Excoffier|first23=L. |last24=Hadly|first24=E. |last25=Ramakrishnan |first25=U. |name-list-style=amp |year=2021|title=Recent evolutionary history of tigers highlights contrasting roles of genetic drift and selection |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution|volume=38|issue=6|pages=2366–2379 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msab032 |pmid=33592092 |pmc=8136513}}</ref><ref name=Wang2023>{{cite journal|last1=Wang|first1=C. |last2=Wu|first2=D. D. |last3=Yuan |first3=Y. H. |last4=Yao |first4=M. C.|last5=Han|first5=J. L.|last6=Wu|first6=Y. J.|last7=Shan|first7=F. |last8=Li|first8=W. P. |last9=Zhai |first9=J. Q. |last10=Huang |first10=M|last11=Peng|first11=S. H.|last12=Cai|first12=Q .H.|last13=Yu|first13=J. Y. |last14=Liu|first14=Q. X. |last15=Lui |first15=Z. Y. |last16=Li|first16=L. X.|last17=Teng|first17=M. S.|last18=Huang|first18=W. |last19=Zhou|first19=J. Y. |last20=Zhang |first20=C. |last21=Chen|first21=W. |last22=Tu|first22=X. L.|year=2023|title=Population genomic analysis provides evidence of the past success and future potential of South China tiger captive conservation|journal=BMC Biology|volume=21 |issue=1 |page=64 |doi=10.1186/s12915-023-01552-y |doi-access=free |pmid=37069598 |pmc=10111772 |name-list-style=amp}}</ref> The Cat Specialist Group states that "Given the varied interpretations of data, the [subspecific] taxonomy of this species is currently under review by the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group."<ref>{{cite web|title=Tiger|publisher=CatSG|url=http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=124|accessdate=14 June 2024}}</ref>

The following tables are based on the [[Taxonomy (biology)|classification]] of the tiger as of 2005,<ref name=MSW3/> and also reflect the classification recognised by the Cat Classification Task Force in 2017.<ref name=catsg/>
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{| class="wikitable"
|+ style="text-align: centre;" | ''Panthera tigris tigris'' {{small|(Linnaeus, 1758)}}<ref name=Linn1758/>
! Population !! Description !! Image
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| [[Bengal tiger]] {{small|formerly ''P. t. tigris'' (Linnaeus, 1758)}}<ref name=Linn1758/>
| | This population inhabits the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref name=Jackson1996>{{Cite book |author1=Nowell, K. |author2=Jackson, P. |title=Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan |place=Gland, Switzerland |publisher=IUCN |year=1996 |isbn=2-8317-0045-0 |name-list-style=amp |pages=55–65 |chapter=Tiger, ''Panthera tigris'' (Linnaeus, 1758) |chapter-url=https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/1996-008.pdf#page=80 |access-date=25 January 2024 |archive-date=25 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125121859/https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/1996-008.pdf#page=80 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Bengal tiger has shorter fur than tigers further north,<ref name=pocock1939/> with a light [[Tawny (color)|tawny]] to orange-red colouration,<ref name=pocock1939/><ref>{{cite report|title=Indian National Studbook of the Bengal Tiger (''Panthera tigris tigris'') |publisher=Central Zoo Authority, Wildlife Institute of India |date=2011 |url=https://cza.nic.in/uploads/documents/studbooks/english/Bengal%20Tiger%20Studbook%202011.pdf |last1=Srivastav|first1=A. |last2=Malviya |first2=M. |last3=Tyagi |first3=P. C.|last4=Nigam |first4=P. |name-list-style=amp |accessdate=27 May 2024}}</ref> and relatively long and narrow nostrils.<ref name="Mazák2010"/>
| |[[File:Adult male Royal Bengal tiger.jpg|frameless]]
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| [[Extinction|†]] [[Caspian tiger]] {{small|formerly ''P. t. virgata'' ([[Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger|Illiger]], 1815)}}<ref name=Illiger>{{cite journal |last1=Illiger |first1=C. |date=1815 |title=Überblick der Säugethiere nach ihrer Verteilung über die Welttheile |journal=Abhandlungen der Königlichen Preußischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin |volume=1804–1811 |pages=39–159 |url=https://bibliothek.bbaw.de/digitalisierte-sammlungen/akademieschriften/ansicht-akademieschriften?tx_bbaw_academicpublicationshow%5Baction%5D=show&tx_bbaw_academicpublicationshow%5Bcontroller%5D=AcademicPublication%5CVolume&tx_bbaw_academicpublicationshow%5Bpage%5D=195&tx_bbaw_academicpublicationshow%5Bvolume%5D=85&cHash=f015ec3f9a13240a9559ebdcb88aafa4}}</ref>
| |This population occurred from [[Turkey]] to around the [[Caspian Sea]].<ref name=Jackson1996/> It had bright rusty-red fur with thin and closely spaced brownish stripes,{{sfn|Sludskii|1992|p=137}} and a broad [[occipital bone]].<ref name=Kitchener1999/> Genetic analysis revealed that it was closely related to the Siberian tiger.<ref name=Driscoll2009>{{Cite journal |last1=Driscoll |first1=C. A. |last2=Yamaguchi |first2=N. |last3=Bar-Gal |first3=G. K. |last4=Roca |first4=A. L. |last5=Luo |first5=S. |last6=MacDonald |first6=D. W. |last7=O'Brien |first7=S. J. |name-list-style=amp |title=Mitochondrial phylogeography illuminates the origin of the extinct Caspian Tiger and its relationship to the Amur Tiger |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0004125 |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=e4125 |date=2009 |pmid=19142238 |pmc=2624500 |bibcode=2009PLoSO...4.4125D |doi-access=free}}</ref> It has been extinct since the 1970s.<ref name=Seidensticker1999/>
| |[[File:Panthera tigris virgata.jpg|frameless]]
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| [[Siberian tiger]] {{small|formerly ''P. t. altaica'' ([[Coenraad Jacob Temminck|Temminck]], 1844)}}<ref name=Temminck>{{cite book |last=Temminck |first=C. J. |date=1844 |chapter=Aperçu général et spécifique sur les Mammifères qui habitent le Japon et les Iles qui en dépendent |title=Fauna Japonica sive Descriptio animalium, quae in itinere per Japoniam, jussu et auspiciis superiorum, qui summum in India Batava imperium tenent, suscepto, annis 1825–1830 collegit, notis, observationibus et adumbrationibus illustravit Ph. Fr. de Siebold |location=Leiden |publisher=Lugduni Batavorum |editor1=Siebold, P. F. v. |editor2=Temminck, C. J. |editor3=Schlegel, H. |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/faunajaponicasi00sieb/page/43}}</ref>
| |This population lives in the [[Russian Far East]], [[Northeast China]] and possibly [[North Korea]].<ref name=Jackson1996/> The Siberian tiger has long hair and dense fur.<ref name=Temminck/> Its ground colour varies widely from [[ochre]]-yellow in winter to more reddish and vibrant after moulting.{{sfn|Sludskii|1992|p=131}} The skull is shorter and broader than the skulls of tigers further south.<ref name="Mazák2010">{{cite journal |last1=Mazák |first1=J. H. |year=2010|title=Craniometric variation in the tiger (''Panthera tigris''): Implications for patterns of diversity, taxonomy and conservation |journal=Mammalian Biology |volume=75 |issue=1 |pages=45–68 |doi=10.1016/j.mambio.2008.06.003|bibcode=2010MamBi..75...45M}}</ref>
| |[[File:P.t.altaica Tomak Male.jpg|frameless]]
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| [[South China tiger]] {{small|formerly ''P. t. amoyensis'' ([[Max Hilzheimer|Hilzheimer]], 1905)}}<ref name=Hilzheimer>{{cite journal |last=Hilzheimer |first=M. |date=1905 |title=Über einige Tigerschädel aus der Straßburger zoologischen Sammlung |journal=Zoologischer Anzeiger |volume=28 |pages=594–599 |url=https://archive.org/details/zoologischeranze28deut/page/596}}</ref>
| |This tiger historically lived in south-central China.<ref name=Jackson1996/> The skulls of the five [[type specimen]]s had shorter [[carnassial]]s and [[Molar (tooth)|molars]] than tigers from India, a smaller cranium, [[Orbit (anatomy)|orbit]]s set closer together and larger [[Orbital process of the zygomatic bone|postorbital process]]es; skins were yellowish with [[rhombus]]-like stripes.<ref name=Hilzheimer/> It has a unique mtDNA [[haplotype]] due to interbreeding with ancient tiger lineages.<ref name=catsg/><ref name=Sun2023/><ref name=Hu2022/> It is [[extinct in the wild]] as there has not been a confirmed sighting since the 1970s,<ref name=iucn/> and survives only in captivity.<ref name=Wang2023/>
| |[[File:2012 Suedchinesischer Tiger.JPG|frameless]]
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| [[Indochinese tiger]] {{small|formerly ''P. t. corbetti'' ([[Vratislav Mazák|Mazák]], 1968)}}<ref name=Mazak1968>{{cite journal |last=Mazák |first=V. |author-link=Vratislav Mazák |date=1968 |title=Nouvelle sous-espèce de tigre provenant de l'Asie du sud-est |journal=Mammalia |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=104–112 |doi=10.1515/mamm.1968.32.1.104|s2cid=84054536}}</ref>
| |This tiger population occurs on the [[Indochinese Peninsula]].<ref name=Jackson1996/> Indochinese tiger specimens have smaller craniums than Bengal tigers and appear to have darker fur with somewhat thin stripes.<ref name=Mazak1968/><ref name=mazak06>{{cite journal |last1=Mazák |first1=J. H. |last2=Groves |first2=C. P. |name-list-style=amp |date=2006 |title=A taxonomic revision of the tigers (''Panthera tigris'') of Southeast Asia |journal=Mammalian Biology |volume=71 |issue=5 |pages=268–287 |doi=10.1016/j.mambio.2006.02.007 |bibcode=2006MamBi..71..268M |url=http://www.dl.edi-info.ir/A%20taxonomic%20revision%20of%20the%20tigers%20of%20Southeast%20Asia.pdf |access-date=15 January 2024 |archive-date=31 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531133543/http://www.dl.edi-info.ir/A%20taxonomic%20revision%20of%20the%20tigers%20of%20Southeast%20Asia.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>
| |[[File:Panthera tigris corbetti (Tierpark Berlin) 832-714-(118).jpg|frameless]]
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| [[Malayan tiger]] {{small|formerly ''P. t. jacksoni'' (Luo et al., 2004)}}<ref name=Luo04>{{cite journal |last1=Luo |first1=S.-J. |last2=Kim |first2=J.-H. |last3=Johnson |first3=W. E. |last4=van der Walt |first4=J. |last5=Martenson |first5=J. |last6=Yuhki |first6=N. |last7=Miquelle |first7=D. G. |last8=Uphyrkina |first8=O. |last9=Goodrich |first9=J. M. |last10=Quigley |first10=H. B. |last11=Tilson |first11=R. |last12=Brady |first12=G. |last13=Martelli |first13=P. |last14=Subramaniam |first14=V. |last15=McDougal |first15=C. |last16=Hean |first16=S. |last17=Huang |first17=S.-Q. |last18=Pan |first18=W. |last19=Karanth |first19=U. K. |last20=Sunquist |first20=M. |last21=Smith |first21=J. L. D. |last22=O'Brien |first22=S. J. |name-list-style=amp |date=2004 |title=Phylogeography and genetic ancestry of tigers (''Panthera tigris'') |journal=[[PLOS Biology]] |volume=2 |issue=12 |page=e442 |pmid=15583716 |pmc=534810 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0020442 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
| |The Malayan tiger was proposed as a distinct subspecies on the basis of mtDNA and [[DNA sequences|micro-satellite sequences]] that differ from the Indochinese tiger.<ref name=Luo04/> It does not differ significantly in fur colour or skull size from Indochinese tigers.<ref name=mazak06/> There is no clear geographical barrier between tiger populations in northern [[Malaysia]] and southern [[Thailand]].<ref name=iucn/>
| |[[File:2012-09-15 Tierpark Berlin 26 (cropped).jpg|frameless]]
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ style="text-align: centre;" | ''Panthera tigris sondaica'' {{small|(Temminck, 1844)}}<ref name=catsg/>
! Population !! Description !! Image
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| †[[Javan tiger]] {{small|formerly ''P. t. sondaica'' (Temminck, 1944)}}<ref name=Temminck/>
| |This tiger was described based on an unspecified number of skins with short and smooth hair.<ref name=Temminck/> Tigers from [[Java]] were small compared to tigers of the Asian mainland, had relatively elongated skulls compared to the Sumatran tiger and longer, thinner and more numerous stripes.<ref name=mazak06/> The Javan tiger is thought to have gone extinct by the 1980s.<ref name=Seidensticker1999/>
| |[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Een groep mannen en kinderen poseert bij een pas geschoten tijger te Malingping in Bantam West-Java TMnr 10006636.jpg|frameless]]
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| †[[Bali tiger]] {{small|formerly ''P. t. balica'' ([[Ernst Schwarz (zoologist)|Schwarz]], 1912)}}<ref name=Schwarz>{{cite journal |last=Schwarz |first=E. |date=1912 |title=Notes on Malay tigers, with description of a new form from Bali |journal=Annals and Magazine of Natural History |pages=324–326 |series=8 |volume=10 |issue=57 |doi=10.1080/00222931208693243 |url=https://archive.org/stream/annalsmagazineof8101912lond#page/324/mode/2up}}</ref>
| | This tiger occurred on [[Bali]] and had brighter fur and a smaller skull than the Javan tiger.<ref name=Schwarz/><ref name="der-tiger">{{cite book |author=Mazak, V. |year=2004 |title=Der Tiger |publisher=Westarp Wissenschaften Hohenwarsleben|location = Madgeburg |isbn=978-3-89432-759-0 |language=de}}</ref> A typical feature of Bali tiger skulls is the narrow occipital bone, which is similar to the Javan tiger's skull.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mazák |first1=V. |author-link=Vratislav Mazák |last2=Groves |first2=C. P. |last3=Van Bree |first3=P. |date=1978 |title=Skin and Skull of the Bali Tiger, and a list of preserved specimens of ''Panthera tigris balica'' (Schwarz, 1912) |journal=[[Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde]] |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=108–113 |name-list-style=amp}}</ref> This population went extinct in the 1940s.<ref name=Seidensticker1999>Seidensticker, J.; Christie, S. & Jackson, P. (1999). "Preface" in {{harvnb|Seidensticker|Christie|Jackson|1999|pp=xv–xx}}</ref>
| |[[File:Bali tiger zanveld.jpg|frameless]]
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| [[Sumatran tiger]] {{small|formerly ''P. t. sumatrae'' ([[Reginald Innes Pocock|Pocock]], 1929)}}<ref name=Pocock1929>{{cite journal |last=Pocock |first=R. I. |date=1929 |title=Tigers |journal=[[Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society]] |volume=33 |pages=505–541 |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofbomb33341929bomb/page/n185}}</ref>
| The type specimen from [[Sumatra]] had dark fur.<ref name=Pocock1929/> The Sumatran tiger has particularly long hair around the face,<ref name=Jackson1996/> thick body stripes and a broader and smaller [[nasal bone]] than other island tigers.<ref name=mazak06/>
| |[[File:Panthera tigris sumatrae (Sumatran Tiger) close-up.jpg|frameless]]
|}