The tiger (Panthera tigris) is a mammal of the Felidae family, the largest of four "big cats" in the Panthera genus.[3] Native to much of eastern and southern Asia, the tiger is an apex predator and an obligate carnivore. Reaching up to 4 metres (13 feet) in total length and weighing up to 300 kg (660 pounds), tigers are comparable in size to the biggest extinct felids.[4][5] Aside from their great bulk and power, their most recognizable feature is the pattern of dark vertical stripes that overlays near-white to reddish-orange fur, with lighter underparts.
Highly adaptable, tigers range from the Siberian taiga to open grasslands to tropical mangrove swamps. They are territorial and generally solitary animals, often requiring large contiguous areas of habitat that support their prey demands. This, coupled with the fact that they are endemic to some of the more densely populated places on earth, has caused significant conflicts with humans. Of the nine subspecies of modern tiger, three are extinct and the remaining are classified as endangered, some critically so. The primary direct causes are habitat loss and fragmentation and hunting. Their historical range, which once reached from Mesopotamia and the Caucasus through most of South and East Asia, has been radically reduced. While all surviving species are under formal protection, poaching, habitat destruction and inbreeding depression continue to be threats.
Nonetheless, tigers are among most recognizable and popular of the world's charismatic megafauna. They have featured prominently in ancient mythologies and folklore, and continue to be depicted in modern films and literature. Tigers appear on many flags, coats of arms and as mascots for sporting teams and serve as the national animal of several Asian nations.
The word "tiger" is taken from the Greek word "tigris", which is possibly derived from a Persian source meaning "arrow", a reference to the animal's speed and also the origin for "Tigris River".[6][7] In American English, "Tigress" was first recorded in 1611. It was one of the many species originally described, as Felis tigris, by Linnaeus in his 18th century work, Systema Naturae.[8] The generic component of its scientific designation, Panthera tigris, is often presumed to derive from Greek pan- ("all") and ther ("beast"), but this may be a folk etymology. Although it came into English through the classical languages, panthera is probably of East Asian origin, meaning "the yellowish animal," or "whitish-yellow".[9]
The oldest remains of a tiger like cat, called Panthera palaeosinensis have been found in China and Java. This species occurred about 2 million years ago at the beginning of the pleistocene and was smaller than a tiger. Early true tiger fossils stem from Java and are between 1.6 and 1.8 million years old. Distinct fossils from the early and middle Pleistocene were discovered in deposits from China, Sumatra and Java. A subspecies called Trinil tiger (Panthera tigris trinilensis) occurred about 1.2 million years ago and was found at the locality of Trinil, Java, Indonesia.[10] In India, and northern Asia the tiger appears for the first time in the late pleistocene. Fossil tigers were also found in eastern Beringia (but not on the American Continent) and Sachalin island. Tiger fossils of the late Pleistocene have also turned up in Japan. These fossils indicate that the Japanese tiger was not bigger than the island subspecies of tigers of recent ages. This may be due to the phenomenon in which body size is related to environmental space (see island dwarfism), or in the case of a large predator like a tiger, availability of prey. Until the Holocene tigers occurred also in Borneo, where it is not present today.
