Leopard Subspecies

In the old taxonomy, the leopard is divided into 27 subspecies primarily based on geographic locations. More recent research based on DNA analysis shows that some subspecies have almost identical DNA structures or sequences and should be combined. These nine subspecies, or kinds, of leopards have been identified mainly based on geographical location and DNA analysis:

    African Leopard – in Africa
    North Chinese Leopard – in China
    Indo-Chinese Leopard – Southeast Asia
    Indian Leopard – In India, southeastern Nepal, and northern Bangladesh
    Sri Lankan Leopard – in Sri Lanka
    Javan Leopard – in Java
    Amur Leopard – in the Russian Far East, northern China, and Korea
    Arabian Leopard – on the Arabian Peninsula
    Persian Leopard – in Southwest Asia

Note: Some subspecies names of leopards in older taxonomic division are still widely used even though they do not exist in the new taxonomic system; for example, the Zanzibar and the Barbary leopards are included in the African leopard. The Anatolian leopard is included in the Persian leopard.