Are they different species? Are all cougars panthers, while not all panthers are cougars? Please explain, I can’t find anything concrete online.
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What kind of panther are you talking about? There’s the so-called “Florida panther”, which is a cougar. Then there’s the *Panthera* genus of big cats, which includes jaguars, leopards, lions and tigers. There are also black panthers, which are jaguars or leopards with dark or black fur.
“Mountain lion, puma, cougar, panther—this cat is known by more names than just about any other mammal! But no matter what you call it, it’s still the same cat, *Puma concolor*, the largest of the “small cats.” So how did it get so many names? Mostly because it has such a large range, and people from different countries have called it different things.”
Source: https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/mountain-lion-puma-cougar
Under the Pantherinae sub family, there is a Genus called Panthera which include Leopard, Tiger, Lion and Jaguar.
Under the Felinae sub family you can find the genus Puma. There is 4 species of Puma, but 3 of them are extinct, leaving only the Puma Concolor alive today. The Puma is rather unique by the fact that he live across the whole American continent, from the cold North-West Canada, to the hot tropical jungle of the Brazil. Since the same species is living accross so much territory it receive different names from different cultures.
Interestingly enough, the Cougar hold the Guinness world record for the animal with the greatest number of names. Cougar come from the Portuguese in Brazil, the name was later used by a German author in the 17th century until the word become the modern Cougar in English. Puma come from the Spanish that took it from the Quechua language in the Andes. Mountain Lion from the British in the US and Canada in the 19th century.
A panther is a black Leapoard that lives in Rain forests type habitats. A cougar is a mountain lion that lives in mountainous habitats.
The cougar, also called mountain lion, is it’s own separate species. A Panther is a black cat, carrying a mutation that makes it’s fur black. It is most common in Leopards and Jaguars.
[Leopard and jaguar panters](https://www.google.com/search?q=panther&client=firefox-b-d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJl47giMz4AhUXyYsKHS6jBxEQ_AUoAXoECAIQAw&biw=1536&bih=779&dpr=1.67).
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