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The Masai lion or East African lion (''Panthera leo nubica'' syn. ''Panthera leo massaica'') is a lion subspecies that is found in eastern Africa. The type specimen is described as being from "Nubia". The subspecies includes previously recognized subspecies like ''massaica'', which was initially described from the Tanganyika Territory in Eastern Africa.〔Allen, G. M. (1939). (''A Checklist of African Mammals'' ). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College 83: 1–763.〕〔Haas, S. K., Hayssen, V., Krausman, P. R. (2005). (''Panthera leo'' ). Mammalian Species (762): 1–11.〕 ==Characteristics== Neumann first described the Masai lion as being less cobby with longer legs and less curved backs than other lion subspecies. Males have moderate tufts of hair on the knee joint, and their manes are not full but look like combed backwards.〔Neumann, O. (1900). (''Die von mir in den Jahren 1892–95 in Ost- und Central-Afrika, speciell in den Massai-Ländern und den Ländern am Victoria Nyansa gesammelten und beobachteten Säugethiere'' ). Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abtheilung für Systematik, Geographie und Biologie der Thiere 13 (VI): 529–562.〕 Male East African lions are generally long including the tail. Lionesses are generally smaller, at only . In weight, males are generally , and females are . Lions, male or female, have a shoulder height of . Male Masai lions are known for a great range of mane types. Mane development is related to age: older males have more extensive manes than younger ones; manes continue to grow up to the age of four to five years, long after lions have become sexually mature. Males living in the highlands above altitude develop heavier manes than lions in the more humid and warmer lowlands of eastern and northern Kenya. They have scanty manes or are even completely maneless.〔Gnoske, T. P., Celesia, G. G., Kerbis Peterhans, J. C. (2006). ''Dissociation between mane development and sexual maturity in lions'' (Panthera leo): ''solution to the Tsavo riddle?''. Journal of Zoology 270(4): 551–560. (Abstract )〕 Lions on rock-2.jpg|Lions in the Serengeti highlands have often very big manes Lion male with prey Serengeti 2.jpg|Male lion in the Serengeti Young male lion in the Serengeti.jpg|Young male lion in the Serengeti Panthera leo massaica mating.jpg|Lions mating at Masai Mara Tsavo lion.jpg|Mature male lion in Amboseli National Park with intermediate mane development Lion male with scanty mane at Samburu NR 2.jpg|Lion in the Samburu National Reserve, Kenya Tsavo lions closer.jpg|Two male lions with weak mane development in Tsavo, Kenya Lionsoftsavo2008.jpg|Maneless Tsavo lions on display in the Field Museum of Natural History Lioness Samburu 2.jpg|Lioness at Samburu, Kenya Watching a pair of lions.jpg|Lion pair at Selous Game Reserve 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Masai lion」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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