Barbary leopard | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Family: | Felidae |
Genus: | Panthera |
Species: | P. pardus |
Subspecies: | P. p. panthera |
Trinomial name | |
Panthera pardus panthera (Schreber, 1777) |
The Barbary leopard or North African leopard from the Atlas Mountains of North Africa has initially been described as a leopard subspecies (Panthera pardus panthera) in the late 18th century. Following genetic analysis in the 1990s, this population is grouped with the African leopard (P. p. pardus).
Leopards are rare in northern Africa. Only small populations persist in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and Algeria in forest and mountain steppe in elevations of 300 to 2,500 m (980 to 8,200 ft) where the climate is temperate to cold.Barbary macaques also live in this area and habitat.