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Monday, 19 October 2015

The Ghost of Genetics; A Case Study of the Tigon

Tigon


Tigon4.jpg


Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Subclass:Theria
Order:Carnivora
Suborder:Feliformia
Superfamily:Feloidea
Family:Felidae
Subfamily:Pantherinae
Genus:Panthera
Species:Panthera tigris × Panthera leo
tigon /ˈtɡən/ or tiglon /ˈtɡlən/ is a hybrid cross between a male tiger(Panthera tigris) and a female lion(Panthera leo).[1][2] Thus, it has parents with the same genus but of differentspecies. The tigon is not currently as common as the converse hybrid, theliger; however, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Gerald Iles wrote that he had been able to obtain three tigons, but he had never seen a liger.[3]
The tigon's genome includes genetic components of both parents.[4] Tigons can exhibit visible characteristics from both parents:[4] they can have both spots from the mother (lions carry genes for spots—lion cubs are spotted and some adults retain faint markings) and stripes from the father. Any manethat a male tigon may have will appear shorter and less noticeable than a lion's mane and is closer in type to the ruff of a male tiger. It is a common misconception that tigons are smaller than lions or tigers. They do not exceed the size of their parent species because they inherit growth-inhibitory genesfrom the lioness mother, but they do not exhibit any kind of dwarfism or miniaturization; they often weigh around 180 kilograms (400 lb).

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