Re: Ligers and tigrons - oh my!

["Allan Edels" <edels@msn.Com>]

Peter, et al:

Aside from the obvious differences in coloration and environmental
preferences, there is at least one difference noticeable in the skulls:
If you take the skulls (minus lower jaws) of a lion and a tiger and
place them on a table, one of the skulls will easily rock back and forth
and the other will not.  (I'm not sure which is which - I think the lion
skull rocks easier).  Thom H. can correct me on this.  [This difference
is in the dentition of the animals, and the shape of the upper jaw -
sorry, no real scientific nomenclature here].

Note that I recommend that both animals are dead before you try this
experiment :-).

Allan Edels

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-----Original Message-----
From: owner-dinosaur@usc.edu [mailto:owner-dinosaur@usc.edu] On Behalf
Of zone65
Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2004 10:36 PM
To: dinosaur@usc.edu
Subject: Fwd: Re: Ligers and tigrons - oh my!


What makes lions and tigers distinct species, instead of just different
breeds of big cat? Is this where cladistics comes in?

Peter Markmann


----- Original Message -----
From: GSP1954@aol.com
Date: Wednesday, March 17, 2004 1:49 pm
Subject: Ligers and tigrons - oh my!
> If a daddy lion and a momma tiger make a baby its a liger. If a boy 
> tiger and 
> a girl lion have a little one its a tigron. According to a Brit 
> newspaper 
> account grown up tigrons tend to be small at a wee 25 stone, while 
> ligers are the 
> biggest cats, up to 86 stone and able to stand 12 ft tall on the 
> hind legs. 
> Do any of you paleomammalogists who works on big cats know if this 
> is true? My 
> WWII vet English correspondent wants to know. 
> 
> G Paul