Editing Lion (section)

==Description==
{{multiple image|align=right|direction=vertical
|image1=Lioness 12.jpg|caption1=A tuft at the end of the tail is a distinct characteristic of the lion.
|image2=Description iconographique comparée du squelette et du système dentaire des mammifères récents et fossiles (Panthera leo).jpg|caption2=Skeleton}}

The lion is a muscular, broad-chested cat with a short, rounded head, a reduced neck, and round ears; males have broader heads. The fur varies in colour from light [[Buff (colour)|buff]] to silvery grey, yellowish red, and dark brown. The colours of the underparts are generally lighter. A new-born lion has dark [[Rosette (zoology)|spots]], which fade as the cub reaches adulthood, although faint spots may still be seen on the legs and underparts.<ref name=Guggisberg1975/><ref name=Haas2005>{{cite journal |author1=Haas, S. K. |author2=Hayssen, V. |author3=Krausman, P. R. |title=''Panthera leo'' |year=2005 |journal=Mammalian Species |volume=762 |pages=1–11 |url=http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/762_Panthera_leo.pdf |doi=10.1644/1545-1410(2005)762[0001:PL]2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=198968757 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728131140/http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/762_Panthera_leo.pdf |archive-date=28 July 2017}}</ref> The tail of all lions ends in a dark, hairy tuft that, in some lions, conceals an approximately {{cvt|5|mm}}-long, hard "spine" or "spur" composed of dermal papillae.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Turner |first=W.C. |date=July 1873 |title=On the So-Called Prickle or Claw at the End of the Tail of the Lion and Other Felines |url=https://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC1318943&blobtype=pdf |journal=Journal of Anatomy and Physiology |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=271–273 |pmid=17230977|pmc=1318943 }}</ref> The functions of the spur are unknown. The tuft is absent at birth, develops at around {{frac|5|1|2}} months of age and is readily identifiable at the age of seven months.<ref name="Schaller28">[[#Schaller|Schaller]], pp. 28–30.</ref>

Its skull is very similar to that of the tiger, although the frontal region is usually more depressed and flattened and has a slightly shorter [[postorbital]] region and broader nasal openings than those of the tiger. Due to the amount of skull variation in the two species, usually only the structure of the lower jaw can be used as a reliable indicator of species.<ref name=Pocock1939>{{cite book |author=Pocock, R. I. |year=1939 |title=The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma |volume=((Mammalia. Volume 1)) |publisher=Taylor and Francis Ltd. |location=London |chapter=''Panthera leo'' |pages=212–222 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/PocockMammalia1/pocock1#page/n261/mode/2up}}</ref><ref name=USSR>{{Cite book |last1=Heptner |first1=V. G. |last2=Sludskii |first2=A. A. |orig-date=1972 |year=1992 |title=Mlekopitajuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza. Moskva: Vysšaia Škola |trans-title=Mammals of the Soviet Union, Volume II, Part 2 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation |location=Washington DC |chapter=Lion |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/mammalsofsov221992gept#page/82/mode/2up |pages=83–95 |isbn=978-90-04-08876-4}}</ref>

The skeletal muscles of the lion make up 58.8% of its body weight and represent the highest percentage of muscles among mammals.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Davis |first=D. D. |date=1962 |title=Allometric relationships in Lions vs. Domestic Cats |journal=Evolution |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=505–514 |doi=10.1111/j.1558-5646.1962.tb03240.x |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Calder |first=W. A. |chapter=Skeletal muscle |pages=17–21 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-iBS6-2OO3wC&pg=PA19 |title=Size, Function, and Life History |date=1996 |publisher=Courier Corporation |isbn=978-0-486-69191-6 |access-date=21 July 2021 |archive-date=5 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240305201618/https://books.google.com/books?id=-iBS6-2OO3wC&pg=PA19#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live}}</ref> The lion has a high concentration of [[fast twitch muscle]] fibres, giving them quick bursts of speed but less stamina.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kohn |first1=T. A. |last2=Burroughs |first2=R. |last3=Hartman |first3=M. J. |last4=Noakes |first4=T. D. |date=2011 |title=Fiber type and metabolic characteristics of lion (''Panthera leo''), Caracal (''Caracal caracal'') and human skeletal muscle |url=https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/2263/19598/1/Kohn_Fiber%282011%29.pdf |journal=Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology |volume=159 |issue=2 |pages=125–133 |doi=10.1016/j.cbpa.2011.02.006 |pmid=21320626 |hdl=2263/19598}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jacobs |first1=B. |last2=Garcia |first2=M. E. |last3=Shea-Shumsky |first3=N. B. |last4=Tennison |first4=M. E. |last5=Schall |first5=M. |last6=Saviano |first6=M. S. |last7=Tummino |first7=T. A. |last8=Bull |first8=A. J. |last9=Driscoll |first9=L. L. |last10=Raghanti |first10=M. A. |last11=Lewandowski |first11=A. H. |last12=Wicinski |first12=B. |last13=Ki Chui |first13=H. |last14=Bertelsen |first14=M. F. |last15=Walsh |first15=T. |date=2018 |title=Comparative morphology of gigantopyramidal neurons in primary motor cortex across mammals |journal=Journal of Comparative Neurology |volume=526 |issue=3 |pages=496–536 |doi=10.1002/cne.24349 |pmid=29088505 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320596823}}</ref> 

===Size===
Among felids, the lion is second only to the tiger in size.<ref name=Haas2005/> The size and weight of adult lions vary across its range and habitats.<ref name=Smuts_etal_1980>{{Cite journal |last=Smuts|first=G. L. |author2=Robinson, G. A. |author3=Whyte, I. J. |title=Comparative growth of wild male and female lions (''Panthera leo'') |journal=Journal of Zoology |year=1980 |volume=190 |issue=3 |pages=365–373 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1980.tb01433.x}}</ref><ref name=Chellam1993>{{cite book |author=Chellam, R. |author2=Johnsingh, A. J. T.  |year=1993 |chapter=Management of Asiatic lions in the Gir Forest, India |pages=409–423 |title=Mammals as predators: the proceedings of a symposium held by the Zoological Society of London and the Mammal Society, London. Volume 65 of Symposia of the Zoological Society of London |editor1-last=Dunstone |editor1-first=N. |editor2-last=Gorman |editor2-first=M. L. |publisher=Zoological Society of London |location=London}}</ref><ref name=BCKM1993>{{cite book |author=Brakefield, T. |chapter=Lion: Sociable Simba |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=szBm5kPeC-cC&pg=PA50 |pages=50–67 |title=Big Cats: Kingdom of Might |publisher=Voyageur Press |location=London |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-89658-329-0 |access-date=1 November 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414114707/https://books.google.com/books?id=szBm5kPeC-cC&pg=PA50 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=nowak>{{Cite book |last=Nowak |first=R. M. |year=1999 |title=Walker's Mammals of the World |location=Baltimore |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |chapter=''Panthera leo'' |pages=832–834 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T37sFCl43E8C&pg=PR832 |isbn=978-0-8018-5789-8}}</ref> Accounts of a few individuals that were larger than average exist from Africa and India.<ref name=Guggisberg1975/><ref name=CAP>{{Cite book |last1=Nowell |first1=K. |last2=Jackson |first2=P. |title=Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan |url=http://carnivoractionplans1.free.fr/wildcats.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050529182212/http://carnivoractionplans1.free.fr/wildcats.pdf |archive-date=29 May 2005 |url-status=live |year=1996 |publisher=IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group |location=Gland, Switzerland |isbn=978-2-8317-0045-8 |pages=17–21; 37–41 |chapter=African lion, ''Panthera leo'' (Linnaeus, 1758); Asiatic lion, ''Panthera leo persica'' (Meyer, 1826)}}</ref><ref name="Smuts et al., 1982">{{cite book |author=Smuts, G. L. |year=1982 |title=Lion |location=Johannesburg, South Africa |publisher=MacMillan }}</ref><ref name=Sinha1987>{{cite thesis |author=Sinha, S. P. |year=1987 |title=Ecology of wildlife with special reference to the lion (''Panthera leo persica'') in Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, Saurashtra, Gujurat |type=PhD |publisher=Saurashtra University |location=Rajkot |isbn=978-3844305456}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! Average !!Female lions !!Male lions
|-
|Head-and-body length
||{{cvt|160|-|184|cm}}<ref name=West2013>{{cite book |last1=West |first1=P. M. |last2=Packer |first2=C. |chapter=''Panthera leo'' Lion |pages=150–159 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B_07noCPc4kC&pg=RA4-PA150 |editor1=Kingdon, J. |editor2=Happold, D. |editor3=Butynski, T. |editor4=Hoffmann, M. |editor5=Happold, M. |editor6=Kalina, J. |title=Mammals of Africa |year=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |location=London |isbn=978-1-4081-8996-2}}</ref>
||{{cvt|184|-|208|cm}}<ref name=West2013/>
|-
|Tail length
||{{cvt|72|-|89.5|cm}}<ref name=West2013/>
||{{cvt|82.5|-|93.5|cm}}<ref name=West2013/>
|-
|Weight
||{{cvt|118.37|-|143.52|kg}} in Southern Africa,<ref name=Smuts_etal_1980/>{{break}}{{cvt|119.5|kg}} in East Africa,<ref name=Smuts_etal_1980/>{{break}}{{cvt|110|-|120|kg}} in India<ref name=Chellam1993/>
||{{cvt|186.55|-|225|kg}} in Southern Africa,<ref name=Smuts_etal_1980/>{{break}}{{cvt|174.9|kg}} in East Africa,<ref name=Smuts_etal_1980/>{{break}}{{cvt|160|-|190|kg}} in India<ref name=Chellam1993/>
|}

===Mane===
{{multiple image|align=right|direction=vertical |image1=Lion (Panthera leo) male 6y.jpg|caption1=A six-year-old male in [[Phinda Private Game Reserve]] |image2=Lion au repos parc pendjari.jpg|caption2=Young male in Pendjari National Park}}
The male lion's mane is the most recognisable feature of the species.<ref name=Hemmer>{{cite journal |author=Hemmer, H. |year=1974 |title=Untersuchungen zur Stammesgeschichte der Pantherkatzen (''Pantherinae'') Teil 3. Zur Artgeschichte des Löwen ''Panthera (Panthera) leo'' (Linnaeus, 1758) |journal=Veröffentlichungen der Zoologischen Staatssammlung |volume=17| pages=167–280 |url=https://archive.org/stream/verfentlichungen171974zool#page/178/mode/2up}}</ref> It may have evolved around 320,000–190,000 years ago.<ref name=Yamaguchietal2004Mane>{{Cite journal |last1=Yamaguchi |first1=N. |last2=Cooper |first2=A. |last3=Werdelin |first3=L. |last4=MacDonald |first4=D. W. |date=2004 |title=Evolution of the mane and group-living in the lion (''Panthera leo''): a review |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=263 |issue=4 |pages=329–342 |doi=10.1017/S0952836904005242}}</ref> It grows downwards and backwards, covering most of the head, neck, shoulders, and chest. The mane is typically brownish and tinged with yellow, rust, and black hairs.<ref name=Haas2005/> Mutations in the genes [[microphthalmia-associated transcription factor]] and [[tyrosinase]] are possibly responsible for the colour of manes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tefera |first=M. |date=2003 |title=Phenotypic and reproductive characteristics of lions (''Panthera leo'') at Addis Ababa Zoo |journal=Biodiversity & Conservation |volume=12 |issue=8 |pages=1629–1639 |doi=10.1023/A:1023641629538|bibcode=2003BiCon..12.1629T }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Barazandeh |first1=M. |last2=Kriti |first2=D. |last3=Fickel |first3=J. |last4=Nislow |first4=C. |date=2024 |title=The Addis Ababa Lions: Whole-genome sequencing of a rare and precious population |journal=Genome Biology and Evolution |volume=16 |issue=2 |doi=10.1093/gbe/evae021 |pmc=10871700 |pmid=38302110}}</ref> It starts growing when lions enter adolescence, when [[testosterone]] levels increase, and reach their full size at around four years old.<ref>[[#Packer|Packer]], p. 148.</ref> Cool ambient temperatures in European and North American zoos may result in a heavier mane.<ref name=BarnettYamaguchi2006/> On average, Asiatic lions have sparser manes than African lions.<ref name=Menon>{{Cite book |last=Menon |first=V. |year=2003 |title=A Field Guide to Indian Mammals |location=New Delhi, India |publisher=Dorling Kindersley India |isbn=978-0-14-302998-4}}</ref>{{page needed | date=April 2025}}

This feature likely evolved to signal the [[fitness (biology)|fitness]] of males to females. Males with darker manes appear to have greater reproductive success and are more likely to remain in a pride for longer. They have longer and thicker hair and higher testosterone levels, but they are also more vulnerable to heat stress.<ref name=PeytonPacker1992>{{cite journal |last1=Peyton |first1=P. M. |last2=Packer |first2=C. |year=2002 |title=Sexual selection, temperature, and the lion's mane |journal=Science |volume=297 |issue=5585 |pages=1339–1343 |doi=10.1126/science.1073257 |pmid=12193785 |bibcode=2002Sci...297.1339W |s2cid=15893512}}</ref><ref>[[#Packer|Packer]], pp. 137, 145.</ref> The core body temperature does apparently not increase regardless of sex, season, feeding time, length and colour of mane, but only surface temperature is affected.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Trethowan |first1=P. |last2=Fuller |first2=A. |last3=Haw |first3=A. |last4=Hart |first4=T. |last5=Markham |first5=A. |last6=Loveridge |first6=A. |last7=Hetem |first7=R. |last8=du Preez |first8=B. |last9=Macdonald |first9=D. W. |date=2017 |title=Getting to the core: Internal body temperatures help reveal the ecological function and thermal implications of the lions' mane |journal=Ecology and Evolution |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=253–262 |doi=10.1002/ece3.2556 |pmc=5214092 |pmid=28070288 |bibcode=2017EcoEv...7..253T}}</ref> Unlike in other felid species, female lions consistently interact with multiple males at once.<ref>[[#Packer|Packer]], pp. 145.</ref> Another hypothesis suggests that the mane also serves to protect the neck in fights, but this is disputed.<ref>[[#Schaller|Schaller]], pp. 360.</ref><ref>[[#Packer|Packer]], pp. 133.</ref> During fights, including those involving maneless females and adolescents, the neck is not targeted as much as the face, back, and hindquarters. Injured lions also begin to lose their manes.<ref>[[#Packer|Packer]], pp. 133, 137, 145, 148.</ref> 

Almost all male lions in [[Pendjari National Park]] are either maneless or have very short manes.<ref name=Schoeetal2010>{{cite book |author1=Schoe, M. |author2=Sogbohossou, E. A. |author3=Kaandorp, J. |author4=De Iongh, H. |title=Progress Report—collaring operation Pendjari Lion Project, Benin |publisher=The Dutch Zoo Conservation Fund (for funding the project) |year=2010}}</ref> [[Maneless lion]]s have also been reported in Senegal, in [[Sudan]]'s [[Dinder National Park]] and in [[Tsavo East National Park]], Kenya.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Trivedi |first=B. P. |title=Are maneless Tsavo Lions prone to male pattern baldness? |magazine=National Geographic |year=2005 |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/04/0412_020412_TVtsavolions.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020605184139/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/04/0412_020412_TVtsavolions.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 June 2002 |access-date=7 July 2007}}</ref> [[Castration|Castrated]] lions often have little to no mane because the removal of the [[gonad]]s inhibits testosterone production.<ref>{{Cite journal |first=L. |last=Munson |date=2006 |title=Contraception in felids |journal=Theriogenology |pmid=16626799 |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=126–134 |doi=10.1016/j.theriogenology.2006.03.016}}</ref> Rarely, both wild and captive lionesses have manes.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Gruber |first=K. |date=2022 |access-date=19 November 2023 |title=Five wild lionesses grow a mane and start acting like males |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2106866-five-wild-lionesses-grow-a-mane-and-start-acting-like-males/ |magazine=New Scientist |archive-date=11 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240411033205/https://www.newscientist.com/article/2106866-five-wild-lionesses-grow-a-mane-and-start-acting-like-males/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Young |first=L. J. |date=2016 |access-date=19 November 2023 |title=The rare case of a lioness with a mane |url=https://www.popsci.com/science/zoo-lioness-mane/ |magazine=Popular Science |archive-date=19 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119185541/https://www.popsci.com/science/zoo-lioness-mane/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Increased testosterone may be the cause of maned lionesses reported in northern Botswana.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=National Geographic |last=Dell'Amore |first=C. |date=2016 |access-date=18 April 2016 |title=No, those aren't male lions mating. One is likely a female |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/160418-lions-mating-africa-animals-science|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228190519/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/160418-lions-mating-africa-animals-science|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 February 2021}}</ref>

===Colour variation===
{{Further|White lion}}
The white lion is a rare [[Polymorphism (biology)|morph]] with a genetic condition called [[leucism]], which is caused by a double [[recessive allele]]. It is not albino; it has normal pigmentation in the eyes and skin. White lions have occasionally been encountered in and around [[Kruger National Park]] and the adjacent [[Timbavati Private Game Reserve]] in eastern South Africa. They were removed from the wild in the 1970s, thus decreasing the white lion [[gene pool]]. Nevertheless, 17 births have been recorded in five prides between 2007 and 2015.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Turner|first1=J. A.|last2= Vasicek|first2=C. A. |last3= Somers |first3=M. J. |year=2015 |title=Effects of a colour variant on hunting ability: the white lion in South Africa |journal=Open Science Repository Biology |page=e45011830}}</ref> White lions are selected for breeding in captivity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McBride |first=C. |title=The White Lions of Timbavati |year=1977 |publisher=E. Stanton |location=Johannesburg |isbn= 978-0-949997-32-6}}</ref> They have reportedly been bred in camps in South Africa for use as trophies to be killed during [[canned hunt]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tucker|first=L. |title=Mystery of the White Lions—Children of the Sun God |year=2003 |publisher=Npenvu Press |location=Mapumulanga |isbn=978-0-620-31409-1}}</ref>