Yanghu China native lion, why is it called a tiger?

Yanghu, a lion originated in China, is a custom in China. In the field of paleontology in China, when naming ancient cat-shaped animals, large animals are often called tigers, while small animals are called cats. When the fossils of the front jaw of Yanghu were unearthed, paleontologist Pei Wen called them tigers according to the size of the fossils.

Yanghu was discovered at Zhoukoudian site in Beijing in 1934, but only a section of the anterior mandible was found. However, paleontologists described the characteristics of Yanghu through this fossil study. It is found that the Yanghu is more like a lion in appearance, but its lower canine teeth are longer, which accords with the characteristics of the tiger. Finally, paleontologists temporarily classified Yanghu as a unique leopard species.

Later, many paleontologists studied Yangjiahu and found that Yangjiahu was more in line with lions, so everyone agreed that Yangjiahu was a lion species through a meeting. In modern times, paleontologists have learned more about Yanghu through research, and found that Yanghu was probably an ancient native lion in China. When Yanghu was generally accepted as a lion, its name did not change, because in paleontology, any species would not change its name easily when it was discovered.

Through research, paleontologists believe that Yanghu lived at least 350,000 years ago. At that time, lions had migrated from Africa, the origin of life, to China. Tigers appeared in China in the early Pleistocene two million years ago. Lions began to migrate to Asia slowly from 6.5438+0.2 million years ago, much later than tigers. It is found that the Yanghu is much smaller than the fossil lion, almost as big as modern tigers and lions. Although Yanghu is classified as a lion, it is not a mane lion. Many paleontologists believe that Yanghu is a branch of East Asian Chinese lion.