IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Barlow, A.C.D.; Mazak, J.; Ahmad, I.U.; Smith, J.L.D. | |
| A preliminary investigation of Sundarbans tiger morphology | |
| 2010 Mammalia (74): 329-331 | |
Since the first formal description of tigers as _Felis tigris _in 1758 by Linnaeus, eight subspecies have been established, with the addition of a ninth recently proposed (Luo et al. 2004). However, these classifications are disputed on morphological, genetic, and biogeographical grounds (Cracraft et al. 1998, Kitchener and Dugmore 2000, Maz k 2010). Furthermore, considering the small sample sizes that current classification is based upon and the lack of agreement among studies, there seems considerable scope to improve understanding of tiger evolution and taxonomy. Totally lacking in previous work has been genetic or morphological representation of tigers from the Sundarbans of Bangladesh and India. These tigers are traditionally assigned to _Panthera tigris tigris, _but they might have been isolated long enough to become morphologically or genetically distinct. The objectives of this study were to investigate if Sundarbans tigers were morphologically distinct from other groups, by analyzing skull morphometrics and body weights. This information will help assess the conservation value of the Sundarbans tiger. |
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