Editing Leopard (section)

===Living subspecies===
Following Linnaeus' first description, 27 leopard [[subspecies]] were proposed by naturalists between 1794 and 1956. Since 1996, only eight subspecies have been considered [[Valid name (zoology)|valid]] on the basis of [[mitochondrial]] analysis.<ref name=Miththapala1996>{{cite journal |last1=Miththapala |first1=S. |last2=Seidensticker |first2=J. |last3=O'Brien |first3=S. J. |name-list-style=amp |title=Phylogeographic subspecies recognition in leopards (''Panthera pardus''): molecular genetic variation |journal=Conservation Biology |year=1996 |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=1115–1132 |doi=10.1046/j.1523-1739.1996.10041115.x |bibcode=1996ConBi..10.1115M |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/4298/Miththapala1996.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |access-date=2017-03-09 |archive-date=2016-02-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160217074413/https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/4298/Miththapala1996.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |url-status=live }}</ref> Later analysis revealed a ninth valid subspecies, the [[Arabian leopard]].<ref name="Uphyrkina">{{cite journal |last1=Uphyrkina |first1=O. |last2=Johnson |first2=E. W. |last3=Quigley |first3=H. |last4=Miquelle |first4=D. |last5=Marker |first5=L. |last6=Bush |first6=M. |last7=O'Brien |first7=S. J. |name-list-style=amp |year=2001 |title=Phylogenetics, genome diversity and origin of modern leopard, ''Panthera pardus'' |url=http://www.biosoil.ru/files/00001386.pdf |url-status=live |journal=[[Molecular Ecology]] |volume=10 |issue=11 |pages=2617–2633 |doi=10.1046/j.0962-1083.2001.01350.x |pmid=11883877 |bibcode=2001MolEc..10.2617U |s2cid=304770 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910162803/http://www.biosoil.ru/files/00001386.pdf |archive-date=2011-09-10}}</ref>

In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the Cat Specialist Group recognized the following eight subspecies as valid taxa:<ref name=CatSG2017>{{cite journal |author1=Kitchener, A. C. |author2=Breitenmoser-Würsten, C. |author3=Eizirik, E. |author4=Gentry, A. |author5=Werdelin, L. |author6=Wilting, A. |author7=Yamaguchi, N. |author8=Abramov, A. V. |author9=Christiansen, P. |author10=Driscoll, C. |author11=Duckworth, J. W. |author12=Johnson, W. |author13=Luo, S.-J. |author14=Meijaard, E. |author15=O’Donoghue, P. |name-list-style=amp |author16=Sanderson, J. |author17=Seymour, K. |author18=Bruford, M. |author19=Groves, C. |author20=Hoffmann, M. |author21=Nowell, K. |author22=Timmons, Z. |author23=Tobe, S. |year=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=73–75 |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/32616/A_revised_Felidae_Taxonomy_CatNews.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y#page=73 |access-date=2019-07-25 |archive-date=2020-01-17 |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=73 |url-status=live}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
! Subspecies !! Distribution !! Image
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|[[African leopard]] (''P. p. pardus'') {{small|(Linnaeus, 1758)}}<ref name=msw3/>
||It is the most widespread leopard subspecies and is native to most of [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], but likely [[Local extinction|locally extinct]] in [[Mauritania]], [[Togo]], [[Morocco]], [[Algeria]], [[Tunisia]] and [[Libya]] and most likely also in [[Gambia]] and [[Lesotho]].<ref name=IUCN/>
||[[File:Leopard (Panthera pardus) male ... (51890626416).jpg|frameless]]
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|[[Indian leopard]] (''P. p. fusca'') {{small|(Meyer, 1794)}}<ref>{{cite book |author=Meyer, F. A. A. |year=1794 |title=Zoologische Annalen. Erster Band |location=Weimar |publisher=Im Verlage des Industrie-Comptoirs |pages=394–396 |chapter=Über de la Metheries schwarzen Panther |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v4s-AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA394 |access-date=2019-04-05 |archive-date=2024-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240505145120/https://books.google.com/books?id=v4s-AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA394#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>
||It occurs in the [[Indian subcontinent]], [[Myanmar]] and southern [[Tibet]].<ref name=CatSG2017/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Laguardia, A. |last2=Kamler, J. F. |last3=Li, S. |last4=Zhang, C. |last5=Zhou, Z. |last6=Shi, K. |year=2017 |title=The current distribution and status of leopards ''Panthera pardus'' in China |journal=Oryx |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=153−159 |doi=10.1017/S0030605315000988 |doi-access=free |name-list-style=amp}}</ref> It is listed as [[Near-threatened species|Near Threatened]].<ref>{{cite iucn |title=''Panthera pardus ssp. fusca'' |author=Shivakumar, S. |author2=Khettry, A. |author3=Surve, N. |author4=Rahman, H. |author5=Ghimirey, Y. |author6=Tharchen, L. |author7=Zaw, T. |author8=Waseem, M. |author9=Jhala, Y. |name-list-style=amp |date=2023 |page=e.T215195524A215195533 |access-date=17 March 2024}}</ref>
||[[File:Indian male leopard (cropped).jpg|frameless]]
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|[[Javan leopard]] (''P. p. melas'') {{small|([[Georges Cuvier|Cuvier]], 1809)}}<ref>{{cite journal |author=Cuvier, G. |year=1809 |title=Recherches sur les espėces vivantes de grands chats, pour servir de preuves et d'éclaircissement au chapitre sur les carnassiers fossils |journal=Annales du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle |volume=Tome XIV |pages=136–164}}</ref>
||It is native to [[Java]] in [[Indonesia]] and has been assessed as [[Endangered species|Endangered]] in 2021.<ref>{{cite iucn |title=''Panthera pardus'' ssp. ''melas'' |name-list-style=amp |author=Wibisono, H. |author2=Wilianto, E. |author3=Pinondang, I. |author4=Rahman, D.A. |author5=Chandradewi, D. |year=2021 |page=e.T15962A50660931 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T15962A50660931.en |access-date=11 November 2023}}</ref>
||[[File:IG KusumoKintokoEko WA 082140100111 foto macan tutul jawa lokasi TN Baluran, Situbondo, Indonesia.jpg|frameless]]
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|[[Arabian leopard]] (''P. p. nimr'') {{small|([[Wilhelm Hemprich|Hemprich]] and [[Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg|Ehrenberg]], 1830)}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hemprich |first1=W. |last2=Ehrenberg |first2=C. G. |year=1830 |chapter=Felis, pardus?, nimr |pages=Plate 17 |title=Symbolae Physicae, seu Icones et Descriptiones Mammalium quae ex Itinere per Africam Borealem et Asiam Occidentalem Friderici Guilelmi Hemprich et Christiani Godofredi Ehrenberg. Decas Secunda. Zoologica I. Mammalia II |location=Berolini |publisher=Officina Academica |editor=Dr. C. G. Ehrenberg |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/SymbolaephysicaMammEhreA/page/n60}}</ref>
||It is the smallest leopard subspecies and considered [[Endemism|endemic]] to the [[Arabian Peninsula]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Spalton, J. A. |last2=Al Hikmani, H. M. |name-list-style=amp |year=2006 |title=The Leopard in the Arabian Peninsula – Distribution and subspecies status |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue 1 |pages=4–8 |url=http://www.catsg.org/fileadmin/filesharing/3.Conservation_Center/3.2._Status_Reports/leopard/Spalton___Hikmani_2006_Status_of_the_Leopard_on_the_Arabian_Peninsula.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619075145/http://www.catsg.org/fileadmin/filesharing/3.Conservation_Center/3.2._Status_Reports/leopard/Spalton___Hikmani_2006_Status_of_the_Leopard_on_the_Arabian_Peninsula.pdf |archive-date=2015-06-19 |url-status=live}}</ref> As of 2023, the population was estimated to comprise 100–120 individuals in [[Oman]] and [[Yemen]]; it was therefore assessed as [[Critically Endangered]] in 2023.<ref>{{cite iucn |title=''Panthera pardus ssp. nimr'' |name-list-style=amp |author=Al Hikmani, H. |author2=Spalton, A. |author3=Zafar-ul Islam, M. |author4=al-Johany, A. |author5=Sulayem, M. |author6=Al-Duais, M. |author7=Almalki, A. |date=2023 |page=e.T15958A46767457 |access-date=17 March 2024}}</ref> It is locally extinct in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.<ref name=IUCN/>
||[[File:Arabian Leopard Panthera pardus nimr in Sharjah Photo Prof Dr Norman Ali Khalaf.jpg|frameless]]
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|[[Panthera pardus tulliana|''P. p. tulliana'']] {{small|([[Achille Valenciennes|Valenciennes]], 1856)}}<ref name=Valenciennes>{{cite journal |author=Valenciennes, A. |date=1856 |title=Sur une nouvelles espèce de Panthère tué par M. Tchihatcheff à Ninfi, village situé à huit lieues est de Smyrne |journal=Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences |volume=42 |pages=1035–1039}}</ref>
||It occurs from eastern [[Turkey]] and the [[Caucasus]] to the [[Iranian Plateau]] and the [[Hindu Kush]] into the western [[Himalayas]]. It is listed as [[Endangered]].<ref>{{cite iucn |title=''Panthera pardus ssp. tulliana'' |name-list-style=amp |author=Ghoddousi, A. |author2=Khorozyan, I. |date=2023 |page=e.T15961A50660903 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T15961A50660903.en |access-date=17 March 2024}}</ref> It is locally extinct in [[Uzbekistan]] and [[Tajikistan]].<ref name=IUCN/>
The Balochistan leopard population in the south of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan is separated from the northern population by the [[Dasht-e Kavir]] and [[Dasht-e Lut]] deserts.<ref name=Khorozyan2006>{{cite journal |last=Khorozyan |first=I. G. |author2=Gennady, F. |author3=Baryshnikov, G. F. |author4=Abramov, A. V. |name-list-style=amp |year=2006 |title=Taxonomic status of the leopard, ''Panthera pardus'' (Carnivora, Felidae) in the Caucasus and adjacent areas |journal=Russian Journal of Theriology |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=41–52 |doi=10.15298/rusjtheriol.05.1.06 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
||<span style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Nordpersischen Leoparden.jpg|frameless]]</span>
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|[[Amur leopard]] (''P. p. orientalis'') {{small|([[Hermann Schlegel|Schlegel]], 1857)}}<ref>{{cite book |author=Schlegel, H. |year=1857 |chapter=''Felis orientalis'' |page=23 |title=Handleiding Tot de Beoefening der Dierkunde, I<sup>e</sup> Deel |publisher=Boekdrukkerij van Nys |location=Breda}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Gray, J. E. |year=1862 |title=Description of some new species of Mammalia |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Zoological Society of London |volume=30 |pages=261−263, plate XXXIII |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1862.tb06524.x |url=https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofgen62zool/page/262}}</ref>
||It is native to the [[Russian Far East]] and [[northern China]], but is locally extinct in the [[Korean peninsula]].<ref name=IUCN/>
||<span style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Amur leopard. Frame from a camera trap (cropped).jpg|frameless]]</span>
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|[[Indochinese leopard]] (''P. p. delacouri'') {{small|[[Reginald Innes Pocock|Pocock]], 1930}}<ref>{{cite journal |author=Pocock, R. I. |year=1930 |title=The Panthers and Ounces of Asia |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=307–336}}</ref>
||It occurs in mainland Southeast Asia and [[southern China]], and is listed as Critically Endangered.<ref>{{cite iucn |title=''Panthera pardus'' ssp. ''delacouri'' |author1=Rostro-García, S. |author2=Kamler, J.F. |author3=Clements, G.R. |author4=Lynam, A.J. |author5=Naing, H. |name-list-style=amp |year=2019 |page=e.T124159083A163986056 |access-date=17 March 2024}}</ref> It is locally extinct in [[Hong Kong]], [[Singapore]], [[Laos]] and [[Vietnam]].<ref name=IUCN/>
||[[File:Indochinese leopard.jpg|frameless]]
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|[[Sri Lankan leopard]] (''P. p. kotiya'') {{small|[[Paulus Edward Pieris Deraniyagala|Deraniyagala]], 1956}}<ref>{{cite journal |author=Deraniyagala, P. E. P. |year=1956 |title=The Ceylon leopard, a distinct subspecies |journal=Spolia Zeylanica |volume=28 |pages=115–116}}</ref>
||It is native to [[Sri Lanka]] and listed as [[Vulnerable species|Vulnerable]].<ref>{{cite iucn |title=''Panthera pardus ssp.kotiya'' |name-list-style=amp |author=Kittle, A.M. |author2=Watson, A. |date=2020 |page=e.T15959A50660847 |access-date=17 March 2024}}</ref>
||[[File:Srilankan leopard (srilankan kotiya) 02 (cropped).jpg|frameless]]
|}

Results of an [[analysis of molecular variance]] and pairwise [[fixation index]] of 182 African leopard museum specimens showed that some African leopards exhibit higher genetic differences than Asian leopard subspecies.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Anco, C. |author2=Kolokotronis, S. O. |author3=Henschel, P. |author4=Cunningham, S. W. |author5=Amato, G. |author6=Hekkala, E. |name-list-style=amp |title=Historical mitochondrial diversity in African leopards (''Panthera pardus'') revealed by archival museum specimens |journal=Mitochondrial DNA Part A |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=455–473 |doi=10.1080/24701394.2017.1307973 |pmid=28423965 |year=2017 |s2cid=4348541}}</ref>