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The Barbary lion (''Panthera leo leo''), also known as the Atlas lion, was an African lion population native to North Africa, including the Atlas Mountains, that is now considered extinct in the wild.〔 Pease referred to the Barbary lion as the North African lion, and accounted that the population has been diminished since the mid 19th century following the introduction of firearms and bounties for shooting them.〔 The last recorded shooting of a wild Barbary lion took place in Morocco in 1942 near Tizi n'Tichka. Small groups of Barbary lions may have survived in Algeria until the early 1960s and in Morocco until the mid-1960s.〔 A lion from Constantine, Algeria was considered the type specimen of the specific name ''Felis leo'' used by Linnaeus in 1758.〔Allen, J. A. (1922-1925). (Carnivora Collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition ). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. XLVII: 74–281.〕〔Harper, F. (1945). (Extinct and vanishing mammals of the Old World ). American Committee for International Wild Life Protection, New York.〕 The Barbary lion was first described by the Austrian zoologist Johann Nepomuk Meyer under the trinomen ''Felis leo barbaricus'' on the basis of a type specimen from Barbary.〔Meyer, J. N. (1826). ''Dissertatio inauguralis anatomico-medica de genere felium''. Doctoral thesis, University of Vienna.〕 ==Characteristics== The Barbary lion was long considered one of the biggest lion subspecies. Museum specimens of male Barbary lion were described as having very dark and long-haired manes that extended over the shoulder and to the belly. Head-to-tail length of stuffed males varies from , and females measure around . A 19th century hunter described a large male allegedly measuring including a long tail.〔Mazák, V. (1970). ''The Barbary lion,'' Panthera leo leo'', (Linnaeus, 1758): some systematic notes, and an interim list of the specimens preserved in European museums''. Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde 35: 34–45.〕〔Hemmer, H. (1974). ''Untersuchungen zur Stammesgeschichte der Pantherkatzen (Pantherinae). Teil III: Zur Artgeschichte des Löwen'' Panthera (Panthera) leo ''(Linnaeus, 1758)''. Veröffentlichungen der Zoologischen Staatssammlung München 17: 167–280.〕 In some historic accounts the weight of wild males was indicated as very heavy and reaching . But the accuracy of the measurements may be questionable, and the sample size of captive Barbary lions were too small to conclude they were the biggest lion subspecies.〔Yamaguchi, N., Haddane, B. (2002). ''The North African Barbary Lion and the Atlas Lion Project''. International Zoo News 49/8: 465–481.〕 Before it became possible to investigate the genetic diversity of lion populations, the colour and size of lion manes was thought to be a sufficiently distinct morphological characteristic to accord a subspecific status to populations. Results of a long-term study of lions in the Serengeti National Park indicate that various factors such as ambient temperature, nutrition and level of testosterone influence the colour and size of lion manes. Sub-Saharan lions kept in a cool environment of European and North American zoos usually develop bigger manes than their wild counterparts. Barbary lions may have developed long-haired manes because of the temperatures in the Atlas Mountains that are much lower than in other African regions, particularly in winter.〔 Therefore, the size of manes is not regarded as appropriate evidence for identifying Barbary lion ancestry. Results of mitochondrial DNA research published in 2006 support the genetic distinctness of Barbary lions in a unique haplotype found in museum specimens that are believed to be of Barbary lion descent. The presence of this haplotype is considered a reliable molecular marker for the identification of Barbary lions surviving in captivity.〔 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「Barbary lion」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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