What is the largest extant species of lion?
The liger, a hybrid between the lion and the tiger, does not count folks.
7 Answers
- Elaine MLv 74 weeks agoBest answer
There are Asian lions, African lions and Barbary lions (technically extinct now).
- Anonymous1 month ago
There is only 1 species that is called the lion. There is more than 1 extant subspecies and several extinct subspecies, including the cave lion and the American subspecies of the lion. Because the cave lion and American lion both lived in cool climates during the last ice age, they were noticeable larger than the living subspecies. Because mammals generate their own body heat, and because large body size reduces heat loss to the environment, the cave lion and American lion were both about the same size and they are both larger than living species of lions.
Among living populations, the East and south African lions are larger than West and Central Africans and Asiatic lions.
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- JazSincLv 71 month ago
All of the extant lions fall under Panthera leo, and the extinct ones (e.g. American lion) probably did too.
- Fox News CultistLv 51 month ago
there's only two unless something changed in the last ten years, am I'm guessing it's the African lion
What's up with the thumbs-downers? And who cares, really?