Black panther

A black panther is the colour variant of any , particularly of the (P. pardus) in and , and the (P. onca) in the . Black panthers of both species have excess black , but their typical spotted markings are also present. Melanism in the leopard is caused by a , and in the jaguar by a .

In 1788, described a black leopard that was kept in the and had been brought from . proposed the Felis fusca for this individual, the .[2]
In 1809, described a black leopard kept in the that had been brought from . Cuvier proposed to name it Felis melas, the .[3]
By 1929, the also had skins of black leopards collected in South Africa and in southern India.[4]

Melanism in the leopard is conferred by a .[5]
Melanistic and non-melanistic animals can be . It is thought that melanism confers a under certain conditions since it is more common in regions of dense forest, where light levels are lower. Preliminary studies also suggest that melanism might be linked to beneficial mutations in the .[6]
The typical spotted markings are present but hidden due to the excess black pigments, which is called "ghost rosettes".[7]

In , dark (P. p. pardus) were reported in the ...

Frequency of melanism appears to be approximately 11% over the leopard's range. Data on the distribution of leopard populations indicates that melanism occurs in five subspecies in the wild: Indian leopard, Javan leopard, African leopard, (P. p. delacouri) and (P. p. kotiya). Based on records from camera traps, melanistic leopards occur foremost in and .[12]
Melanistic leopards are common in Java, and are also reported from densely forested areas in southwestern China, , and , from , and some parts of southern India where they may be more numerous than spotted leopards. Most leopards recorded at 16 sites south of the between 1996 and 2009 were black, indicating a near fixation of melanism in .[13]

The status of black leopards and the extent of between the Javan leopard and other leopard is uncertain. Therefore, coordinated breeding programs for black leopards do not exist in European and North American zoos..

Two black (P. p. orientalis) cubs were born in zoos.

A pseudo-melanistic leopard has a normal background color, but the spots are more densely packed than normal and merge to obscure the golden-brown background color. Any spots on the flanks and limbs that have not merged into the mass of swirls and stripes are unusually small and discrete, rather than forming rosettes. The face and underparts are paler and dappled like those of ordinary spotted leopards.[19]

A melanistic jaguar

In 1801, described a black jaguar observed by local people near the in Paraguay.[20]
In 2004, a black jaguar was recorded in Mexico's .[21]
In 2009, a black jaguar was recorded for the first time in Costa Rica's .[22]
In the mountains of the , 104 records of jaguars were obtained between 2010 and 2019; 26 of them showed melanistic jaguars.[23]

Melanism in the jaguar is caused by deletions in the gene and conferred by a .[24]

There is no authenticated case of a truly melanistic . None was photographed or killed in the wild, and none has ever been bred. Unconfirmed sightings known as the "North American black panther" are currently attributed to errors in species identification by non-experts, and by the exaggeration of size.[25]

1. [Description of a black Panther]. Observations et Mémoires sur la Physique, sur l'Histoire Naturelle et sur les Arts et Métiers, etc. (in French). 33: 45.
   


2. . Zoologische Annalen (in German). Erster Band. Weimar: Im Verlage des Industrie-Comptoirs. pp. 394–396.
   


3. . Annales du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. XIV: 136–164.
   


4. . Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 33 (3): 693–694.
   


5. :.   5446868.
   


6. . . 45 (1).
   


7. . PLOS ONE. 7 (12): e50386. :. :.   23251368.
   


8. (1913). . The Book of the Lion. London: . pp. 46−68.
   


9. ^ Young, T. P. & Evans, M. E. (1993). "Alpine vertebrates of Mount Kenya, with particular notes on the rock hyrax". Journal of the East African Natural History Society. 82 (202): 54−79.
   


10. . New Scientist.
    


11. . Nalooloo Explorers. 2019.
    


12. . PLOS ONE. 12 (4): e0170378. :. :.   28379961.
    


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14. . Contributions to Zoology. 76 (1): 55–57. :.
    


15. ^ Richardson, D. M. (2001). "A simple analysis of leopard (Panthera pardus) space within EAZA collections". In Hiddinga, B.; Brouwer, K. (eds.). EAZA Yearbook 1999/2000. Amsterdam: EAZA Executive Office. pp. 391–392.
    


16. ^ Swanson, B.; Fletchall, N. & Shoemaker, A. (2003). Felid Taxon Advisory Group North American Regional Collection Plan 2003–2005. Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
    


17. . . 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
    


18. . Zoonooz.
    


19.  978-0896586567.
    


20. . Essais sur l'histoire naturelle des quadrupedes de la province du Paraguay. 1. Paris: Charles Pougens. pp. 114–132.
    


21. . Cat News. 42: 18. Archived from on 26 September 2006.
    


22. (PDF). Brenesia. 71: 67–68.
    


23. . Tropical Conservation Science. 13: 1–15. :.
    


24. :.   19021807.
    


25.  20737121.
    


26. (Reprinted ed.). New York: The Century Co.
    


27.   9160843.
    


28.   18533849.